Love is Thicker Than Blood
by X Kyle X
Summary: Giotto is a college student who's looking for love. He finds a boy on the beach with black dog tags. The boy is anything but normal because he can kill twenty people in seconds. The boy is a weapon. A monster. Someone you're not suppose to fall in love with. In a changing world, a secrete mutation occurs and a new race is developed within the human race. They are Altered.
1. X01X

**The Boy with the Black Dog Tags **

Two little mistakes can change your whole world around. Two little mistakes he sensed from within chains and straps are what bought the boy his escape. All it took was a drop of blood from a surgical cut with poor metal stitching to escape his imprisonment. An idiot security guard who messed up on the first day of his job and who solemnly awarded the synthetic weapon his freedom. It was their job to keep him contained, to make sure he could never escape and walk this earth. They failed miserably. The boy they were meant to watch wasn't sane. He was created to perform and act truly like a weapon. His prime purpose was to kill and protect the user, but at this current moment he had no user. He went wild like a gun with its trigger held back.

"G-get-get away!" The second security guard pushed his legs back and bumped up against the wall. He had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He was dead where he sat.

The weapon was of human form. He had arms and legs with toes and fingers to go with them, but he had no human sense of mind. Slaughter, murder, and locate new targets were his perspectives. Those were his duties which he carried out until the very end. He wore nothing but blue jeans and black colored dog tags with a thick metal helmet on his head. The purpose of the metal helmet was so he couldn't see anything or hear for that matter. If he could see his victims, the slaughtering would be nauseating and disturbing.

The dog tags jingled around his neck when he dropped down from his broken straps and chains. He took a moment and immersed himself in the feeling of being strapless. He straightened his back and felt the coolness of his dog tags brush against his bare chest. He took a deep breath and the drops of blood from the dead security guard began to ascend, as if gravity was no longer a factor. They rose to his shoulders and began to change its form. The blood drops thinned out into perfect spikes. They swirled around him before they stopped and fell to the floor. Their sharp points stabbing the ground to prove that blood can harden.

"No-no-no, please!" The security guard begged. "I-I-I-I-I h-have family!"

It was no use. The weapon couldn't hear him, but even if he could he wouldn't show mercy. No gun or sword illustrates clemency for the meat they slaughter. Why should he? He pictured in his mind how the blood spikes stabbed through the man like needles through skin, only deeper and came out his other end. He frowned when it didn't bring him the ecstasy like it did when he could actually see it. He sensed the blood burst through his victim. He sensed the blood staining the walls and floor. The spikes purposely punctured places where the most blood could rupture. Two of the spikes stabbed through the guard's neck and multiply times in his heart and stomach.

The boy could only sense blood and the possibilities of making new ways to use them. He loved to come up with new shapes and forms for it. It was like art to him. It was the only thing he could make in this world, but nobody appreciated it. They feared it instead. He raised his hands and the blood responded. This was his ability, his God given gift. The power to manipulate blood to any shape or form. One would think what a useless talent, but he had a wild imagination. He used his gift in many ways possible.

Fourteen years he's been in here. He hated it. He wanted his freedom. He was born human and feared of dying as a monster. He vaguely remembers his family, his home, and the whole spectrum of human emotion. He had to forget these things to become what he is today. How he wanted to remember and revert back to the way he was, but he could hardly remember those days. He could only move forward and live with what he is now. He took one last breath and opened his mind to more possibilities of killing people with only a single drop of blood.

He smiled as he started to draw more blood out of the murder men. The blood took the shape of spikes once again only this time were longer and thicker. They spun around him and harden to the point that not even diamonds could scratch them. The two giant spikes stopped and quickly thrust forward. They destroyed the two metal hinges of the vault door. The door that was meant to keep him in and the human world out, was in seconds no longer a barrier. The door fell forward and was so heavy that even the floor under it cracked.

The boy turned slightly and took his first step. His bare feet felt the cool tile floor and after fourteen years of being off the floor, the feeling was too great for him. It was his first step and his first fall to the ground. It was strange and weird for him, to walk and use his knees to bend. He rises back to his feet and had no idea the red lights on the ceiling were flashing brightly. Everybody in the whole building knew of his escape and was rushing down to put him back in his holding vault. He walked slowly, talking in the new feeling of walking. The blood circled around him like a coiled snake. As he walked in the hallways he sensed more hearts beating from inside other vaults. They were more of his kind, but he could do nothing for them. He couldn't do anything because he himself wasn't if sure he'll make it out of here alive. He stopped as he sensed four-no-seven new hearts beating quickly. They were rushing down the nearby hallway to get to him. When in reality, they were rushing to their deaths.

More guards with guns turned into the hallway and for a short glance saw the boy before they were turned into sliced meat. The boy with the black dog tags quickly changed the blood snake into seven sharp blood razors and immediately sent them out for the bodies to be cut. The boy walked by the small indecent body parts of the murder men on the floor and could only smile from within his helmet. He drew up more blood from the cut up bodies before another coiling snake wrapped around him, only this one was continued on like this for the next couple of hallways. He didn't see their faces, their souls or anything. So he felt not regret or remorse. He forgot how one was supposed to feel when death was presented in front of you. He forgot how to feel, just like how he forgotten his name and his family. All of those things are just a blur but blood and its color are forever burned in his head.

Three giant blood snakes swirled around him like a protective shield. He stopped walking as he reached the final vault to his escape. The door that would lead him out of the prison holding facility and into the normal part of the building. Where normal workers reside and have no part in his life. Innocent people who have no idea what he was capable of. How he wanted to kill them all. They were the reason why he's here. They thought he wasn't fitted to be in society so they brought him here instead. To rot and forget how to be human and become a weapon for some government plan.

The snakes combined together and thinned out like paper. The blood slithered up the wall of the vault and slipped through the cracks of the hinges. The boy raised his hand before he closed it into a fist. The blood inside expanded and expanded to the point the hinges couldn't take it anymore. The vault door moaned and turned so weak that when the boy touched it with just the tips of his fingers, it fell forward. The valut door created a loud and hunting sound as it hit the ground, but of course he couldn't hear that.

The blood responded to his mental call and returned to him. It coiled around him as if seeking warmth. He walked over on the stone vault door and stopped in the middle of it as he sensed a whole bunch of hearts pumping blood. There was so many of them, all together that it was hard for him to count. He turned his head slightly as he no idea what he has gotten himself into. Even the blood snake lost its shape and turned into nothing but a flat line that circled around him.

It was a long line of soldiers each holding an automatic weapon in their hands and had them pointed at the boy. Their captain was behind them and the reason why they didn't shoot him on sight was because the captain didn't give them that order. He wanted to make sure the weapon wasn't completely rouged. Believe it or not but the boy was still a valuable piece of weaponry and finding a unique piece like him would be trying to the find aliens on Mars.

"Listen boy, you and I both know you don't want to go out there." He pointed with his thumb behind him, where freedom lay. The captain had a dark aura around him. Maybe it was because he wore dark colored clothes but his hair was of lively color. It was a bright indigo. He scoffed as he tossed back some of his hair.

"Be a good boy and head back into your cell and dinner will be served." The captain flashed a sunning smile.

"You idiot, he can't hear you." A blond man said wearing a coffee colored overcoat. He stood off in the distance away from everybody else. He was a man that preferred to be alone.

"Alaude, sweetie, why don't you just stand there and be quiet? I like you better that way." The captain turned back to him.

"I'll kill you." Alaude growled.

"And I love you too." The captain flashed him a smile. He looked back to the boy and continued on with his rant.

"Do you really think you can fit in with normal people? Did you see what you did to those men? Their blood is literally floating around you like some living creature. Do you really think that's normal-that you can really fit in with society?"

The boy tightened his fist as the blood around him boiled.

"I think you pissed him off." Alaude commented.

"Good, it just proves my point that he _can _hear me." The captain smirked over to his partner once again. Alaude scoffed.

"Captain! He's doing something strange!" One of the soldiers in front called out. The captain looked back and didn't know what to make of it. He wasn't scared; he just didn't know how to fight a creature that can manoeuvre blood. The boy pointed his finger to the group and the blood quickly transformed into razors. Seconds later of transforming, they went spinning over to soldiers with the intent to kill. The blades were just a few feet away from them when they burst like fireworks. Splattered blood fell everywhere in front of the group of men. The boy stumbled on his feet when he realized no hearts stopped beating. He was sure he sent those razors to slice them all up. What kind of force could have stopped them? Not a human one, that is.

"Alaude, sometimes you really like to bust my chomps, don't you?" The captain wiped away some blood from his face. He then looked to his partner who had his hand raised. The hand that stopped those razors from slaughtering up those men. He was the type of man not to interfere, but he thought of this as a onetime deal. Besides, he really did like busting the captain's chomps.

"Let's see who has a short temper." Alaude said as he passed through the line of men and onto the front life. "Daemon, after this you owe me. I like French cuisine for my evening dinner and wine."

Daemon smirked. "It's a date, then?"

"When pigs fly." The blond shot back.

"I can arrange that."

"_Real _pigs, not illusions." Alaude fired back.

The boy thinned out the rest of blood he had left and made tiny but multiples of needles. He raised both his hands and sent the tiny needles out. They grew with speed and headed to the direction of the men. Alaude scoffed at such childish games. He raised his hands and stopped the blood needles halfway across the room. He made them lose their shape and revert back to its liquid state before spilling to the floor.

"Is that all?" Alaude called out feeling as if he won this little fight. The boy had no more blood left to manipulate but he didn't lose his cool. He had more tricks up his sleeve. He jumped down from the broken stone vault and his dog tags jingled again. He straightened his back and paused for a slight second. He had to remember. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He was literally in his own darkness.

"I didn't know Alaude-sama was one of them…" One of the soldiers said.

"Don't compare him to the likes of that boy over there." Daemon raised his voice. "You see that boy was born with that kind of power. He's the monster. Alaude was given his power through research and the hard work of talented scientists."

"That's nice. Talk about me behind my back…" Alaude murmured to himself.

"The boy has nothing else to fight with. Let's take him down, captain." One of the aggressive soldiers snapped the magazine into the back of the gun and readied his weapon. Silence overwhelmed everybody as the boy held up hands high over his head. He held them up with his wrists together as if asking to be handcuffed and be brought back to his cell. The boy waited, thinking if someone had the courage to walk over to him and take him but after a long wait he couldn't take it. He started to walk over to them, slowly and steadily. They could fire at him at any moment and he has nothing to protect himself with. He wasn't ready to die.

"Captain…what do we do…?" That same soldier from before asked.

"Nothing." Alaude answered for Daemon. "Don't move and don't do anything rash. He still has the power to manoeuvre the blood inside you. He could make you burst up like an overfilled balloon."

"If he can do that then we shouldn't just stand here waiting!" The soldier yelled out and the boy stopped. Everybody tensed up and thought they angered him or if any way, hurt him. Alaude bit his tongue and scolded himself. Why did he put himself out in the open in like this? He was in the range where the boy could easily make him exploded. Call it cowardly if you want, but Alaude couldn't care less for these men. He cared for himself.

The boy fell to his knees and raised his joined hands higher. He lowered his head and remained there for a good clean minute.

Nobody had the courage or the strength to approach him. The boy was feared for many good reasons. The boy killed thousands of people in the fourteen years he's been held here. He escaped in less than fifteen minutes, killed over twenty men and now he just easily wants to hand himself in? Something wasn't right. Alaude wanted to call the boy's bluff, but he himself had no courage to advance to the boy.

The boy raised his head back up and turned it slightly. What was taking them so long? He could sense their heart beating so hard and loud. He could tell they were nervous and he took joy in that. He lowered his head again and allowed himself to feel a slight emotion. The emotion of regret. He wished he could at least make it out to the front door to see the sunlight he so long forgotten.

"Very well," Daemon cleared his throat and walked by his men. "I'll be the one to do it."

He expected someone to stop him, but nobody even reacted to that he said. He hesitated a bit as walked over to the boy. He bended down to him and that was his mistake. The boy pushed his joined hands on Daemon's chest and not a second later he coughed up a large amount of blood. The soldiers wanted to raise their gun and fire, but couldn't because they couldn't move, neither could Alaude. He felt foolish and arrogant. He even said it himself. The boy had the power to manipulate blood even inside people. If it was possible to stop the blood inside your veins to the point you can't even move, the boy proved t just now that he can make it possible.

Daemon gasped as the boy lowered his hands away from his chest. He fell to knees as he tried to recover his state of mind. The boy didn't do anything bad to him, just made him cough up the blood in his lungs. He hurt him but it wouldn't kill him. It was mercy. The boy rose back to his feet and walked over to Alaude.

He walked straight up to him and touched his forehead with just his thumb. Alaude flinched in pain as this huge headache formed in his head. The boy wanted to make him exploded, cut him in pieces or anything else worst known to man. He was the man that had the power to stop his blood so in other words the man was the only force on the planet that could stop him.

The boy pulled his finger away. He allowed him to live, but the men behind him weren't so lucky. They all exploded. The blood was everywhere and small little hints of bones and destroyed organs lay everywhere on the floor. The boy looked to the ceiling and could sense more blood there, stained and ruined. He had no idea that Daemon came running towards him, a black scythe drawn. A black scythe he created with his own power, the power to make any type of illusion to his sick and dark dreams. He made it so real that one could be forever lost in those illusions. He too was another sad experiment like Alaude, only they survived the side effects.

"Daemon, don't!" Alaude yelled out when he realized he was slowly recovering feeling in parts of his body.

The blood responded and quickly protected their master. The boy looked back and seened the blade of the scythe deep within the pudding type blood. He allowed his finger tips to dip into the blood. The blood understood and quickly slithered around Daemon. It returned back into its liquid state and in a matter of seconds, Daemon was drowning in it. He was drowning in a ball of blood that defied gravity. The boy walked up to the blood ball and pretended as if he could see. As if he could watch him die.

"Please! Don't!" Alaude shouted.

The boy looked to the blond man and didn't know what to feel. Why would the blond man call out this other man's name? Did he want him to live? The boy looked back to the man drowning in the blood and turned his head all the way to side. He could sense the blood filling the man's lungs with his heart slowly losing its power to pump. The boy didn't understand this.

He didn't understand!

Daemon gasped and coughed for air when the blood lost its shape and fell to the floor before him. He couldn't be happier to feel air in his chest as he lay there on the floor, glad he was alive. Alaude rushed to him and held his head up with his arms. He didn't want to believe he was dead. He didn't even want to think of it but when Daemon opened his eyes, he released a sigh of relief.

The boy stood there, lost as to what happened. Two hearts were rushing just right in front of him. They pumped hard, not in fear, not in anxiety, but for something else. The boy looked away and sensed the path where he must take to his escape. He turned slightly and continued on his walk. He didn't want to waste time with them because he couldn't understand them. They were like a puzzle the boy had no knowledge on solving.

"Alaude…he's getting away…" Daemon turned his head slightly to him.

"Like I don't see that." Alaude shook his head. "I rather much take care of you then go after him."

Daemon frowned as he looked to the ceiling. "You really…like to go against me."

At the door the boy commanded the blood to slip through the cracks and bust it open. This was how he entered the working area where no weapon like himself, has ever entered before. He sensed no hearts. They evacuated the whole building and the boy tightened his fists. He wanted to kill them all. He wanted to sense their blood splattered on the walls. He wanted them to die.

He released his anger and could only walk forward. Before he knew it, he was walking out the front door. He sensed countless heart outside waiting for him. This was the only way out and probably had to face an army to get off the island. He took a deep breath and the doors parted by themselves. He took his first step on dirt. He pulled his foot back and couldn't believe how wonderful it felt. It felt dusty and rocky at the same time. Better than feeling cold tile floor all the time. He took another step and dug his toes into the dirty. This moment could be better if he could take this stupid helmet off. He sensed the hearts up ahead stirring and he looked to them. They were in the way of his freedom. He had no choice but to kill them all.

"You are not permitted to go any further. Take one more step and you will be shot on the spot!" They shouted into microphones but he could only hear a distant murmur. The boy pulled the blood in the front of him and hardened it before they started shooting at him. Bullets came from automatic weapons and turrets from the back of warheads. This was an army parked out in front just for him.

The shield of blood was astonishing strong and not a single bullet even cracked it. The boy stood there protected. He wished he could continue to walk forward but they created a barricade. If he had to stand here 'til they ran out of bullets, then he will. He had nothing else to do. Nowhere else he had to be. He took a deep breath at finally the bullets stopped.

The blood shield quickly took the form of bullets and went shooting into those men who stood on the ground. All it took was one blood bullet in the head and they were done. The boy quickly called the blood back but it wasn't fast enough. The turrets on the warheads returned fire and the boy, for a split second thought he was dead. It was too close for comfort. One bullet stopped just inches before the front of his helmet. There was only person he met that had that kind of ability. The boy quickly turned behind him as he sensed a familiar heart.

"You must be pretty damn bold to think you can take on the Japanese military defence force." Alaude said as he held up his hand and the bullets from the turrets continued to stop mid way. Before they could even reach him and the boy. The boy turned his head slightly and didn't understand this act of kindness.

"Kid, I know what you're thinking, but I need to return the favor." Alaude walked over to him and placed his other hand on the front of the helmet. "Make sure you take a good look at the sun…it's just hanging over the horizon."

The boy closed his eyes and the helmet split in two. He heard, he finally heard, the sound of the helmet hit the ground. The wind in his face made everything seem heavenly. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He took a nose deep breath and smelled everything earthly. He could smell plants, dirt, and even a small hint of flowers. He looked down and could see the brown dirt he was feeling with his toes earlier. He looked back up to the blond man and smiled to him. In a way to say thanks.

"Go on, kid…go and live life." Alaude said as he rested his hand on the top of the boy's brown spiky hair. Spiky hair that's all over his face and reached down to the top of his eyebrows. It was very messy but the boy had no idea how his hair was. He could feel it blowing with the morning air, but s'til, he wished he could see it. The boy looked to the left and saw the sun just above the horizon. It was a brilliant summer morning and the boy thought he was literally in heaven. That he really did die and went to heaven, even when he thought he could never enter such a holy place. He doesn't deserve to live in paradise after death.

Alaude closed his eyes and swished his arm. In response the warheads were lifted up from the ground. Alaude slowly opened his eyes as threw the warheads off the cliff and into to sea. The boy quickly ran over to the cliff and saw them sank. He turned his head slightly and smiled. The hearts of the men inside them were slowly sinking until they disappeared completely.

The boy looked back to the blond man who was walking over to him. He smiled to him and the man petted the top of his head. He liked the boy's brown eyes because they turned completely golden under the sun's light. Alaude looked down and read the boy's number on his dog tags. He looked back up to him and the boy pointed to his neck.

"Huh? Oh you wish to see mine?" Alaude pulled his own dog tags from under his coat and the boy held them in his hands. They weren't black like the boy's been but were the regular shiny silver. The boy traced his fingers over the printed number and letter before he looked back up to the men.

"X-01-A, was my name back then." Alaude looked over to the horizon and sighed. "You better go before more come."

The boy dropped the dog tags and stepped back 'til he stood over to the edge. Alaude watched as the boy dropped back and fell into the ocean. He completely reached freedom and Alaude wished he could have the same escape, but he had someone to take care off. He looked back to the building and frowned. He was only going back in there because of Daemon, because of him.

"Take care of yourself," He said as he looked over the cliff and saw nothing but the tame blue waters. He looked up to the sky and saw nothing but orange. What a colorful world he lives in, only he wished it was colorful all the time.

* * *

><p>A digital alarm clock sat perfectly on the bed side table and was just waiting to go off. It was set to go off at seven in the morning and just by a minute it was going to. When it did go off, an arm pulled out of the blankets and hit the top of its snooze button. A man grumbled under his blankets before he tossed in his sleep. The alarm clock waited for another four minutes before going off again. That same arm came out of the blankets and pulled the cord of the alarm clock out of the wall.<p>

"I'm up…" A blond man rose from his bed. He got up and slipped his feet into blue bunny slippers. He yawned as he walked out of his room and saw beer cans and food all over the stairs. He groaned as he remembered the college party he and his friends had last night. It was a party he never wanted to have because he knew shit like this would happen. He walked down the stairs kicking cans as he did. He ended up in the living room of the beach house and saw somebody sleeping on the couch. He walked over to him and slapped his cheek.

"Dude, wake up. You don't live here." The blond said as he took the beer bottle out of his hands. He shook his head as he watched the stranger leave. He looked inside the beer bottle and saw there was a bit left. It would be a waste so he drank it down. He sneered and stuck his tongue out in disgust. It was one of those light beers that tasted like water with salt. It was a sissy beer. He shook his head as he headed into the kitchen.

It was a mess even in there and he had enough of these parties. He wanted to fling the bottle up against the wall but instead he threw it in the sink. He walked out and headed back to his room. He changed out of his pajamas and into fresher clothes. The house was literally on the beach so he changed into some brown shorts and a white t-shirt. Clothes perfect for the summer air of Namimori, Japan. He walked out of his room and back into the living room. He found his best friend picking up the newspaper from the front porch. He crossed his arms in front of him as he waited for the redhead to turn to him.

"Oh?...morning." The redhead said when he realized his best friend was watching him.

"That's all you have to say to me?" The blond snapped.

"Dude…don't yell. I got a wicked headache." The redhead held up his hand.

The blond turned his head slightly. "I'm going out and when I come back this whole house better be clean to the point I can eat off the floor!"

"Giotto, stop yelling!" The redhead roared and he tossed the newspaper on the coffee table. "Listen I know you're Mr. Good-grades but you really need to break loose and have some fun, like you did last night. The you last night was smiling and having fun and the you now is totally on his man period."

"G, I love you like a brother but don't ever say the words 'man period' ever again to me." Giotto found his keys and headed out the door. He didn't like fighting so usually he runs away. It was cowardly and he knew it but this was how he was. Giotto was a first year in college but he was out of school and spending the summer in Japan. Why did he travel out of Europe to spend the summer here? It was all his best friend's doing. It's all G's fault but even so Giotto thanked him for bringing him here. He loved it here.

It was something in the air. The way the sun comes up and goes down around here that just wasn't the same in Italy. He took his shoes off as he stepped off the porch and into the pale white sand. He only had two months to enjoy this place and he didn't want to miss a second of it. He loved this beach. He loved the tame blue waters and a sky to match with it. He loved it all.

He was only twenty-one with the idea of finding someone special in this special place. He had many girls in his life he dated, but only because he thought they were cute and later on, it turned out into girls started dating him. What girl wouldn't want a tall blond-blue eyed-Italian? What he had with the girls he dated wasn't love, and that what he wants. He wants to find it in these two months that he has with this special place. Even if he couldn't find it, he'll come back and continue his search.

Giotto yawned as he walked down the beach even further. He was thinking of having breakfast in a café somewhere deep inside the town. That sounded like a good idea for his stomach but he didn't want to leave the beach. He stopped as he found a broken seashell. He picked it up and threw it out to the sea. He only wanted perfect things on his beach.

He looked ahead and dropped his shoes out of fright. He stumbled where he stood as he saw a person lying on sand close to the shore line. Seaweed litter all over their body and Giotto couldn't stand anymore. He rushed to the person and pulled the seaweed out of their brown damp hair. Giotto paused as he realized it was just a boy. A boy no less than fourteen years old. A boy wearing nothing but damp wet jeans.

A boy with black dog tags.


	2. X02X

**Lemonade **

The boy slowly opened his eyes and felt a weight over him. He sat up slowly and his dog tags chimed. The sound was a wake up call and he blinked his eyes opened. He saw the heavy blanket over him which would explain the weight he felt. He looked around and found himself in someplace new. He wasn't back in the prison he grew up in. He was free. He was finally free. The boy yawned loudly and caught the attention of somebody else.

"Oh, good you're awake." A blond man walked into the room. He held two glasses of some kind of yellow liquid in them. The boy froze as the man sat down on the couch with him. He handed him the glass and the boy received it. He didn't know what to do with it so he just held it. It was very cold and the boy questioned that. Blood is usually warm but this wasn't blood. He knew that blood was red but this liquid was yellow so it couldn't be blood, and even if it was blood, he wouldn't give it to him in a glass.

"Are you feeling better?" Giotto asked, but the boy looked up to him questioningly and didn't answer him. This new person was another puzzle he didn't want to solve. Why was everybody he met very kind to him? He was a weapon that didn't deserve any sort of sympathy. He deserves punishment.

"Is something wrong?" Giotto asked and the boy didn't answer. Giotto furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe it was because he was a stranger. He just has to be friendly. "Um, I brought you a glass of lemonade. I thought you might be thirsty." He pointed to the boy's glass and the boy looked down to it again. He turned his head slightly before he looked back up to the man. He didn't know what to do with that. Giotto realized maybe the boy won't drink it unless he drinks his own glass of lemonade just to prove that he didn't put anything bad in it. That would make sense, not to receive stuff from strangers. Giotto smiled as he lifted up his glass to his mouth and took a quick sip.

The boy's eyes widen as he looked down to the glass. How interesting! He didn't know you could drink this. He lifted up his glass just a bit and smelt it first. Giotto chuckled and couldn't believe the kid smelt his own lemonade. The boy brought it to his lips and took a small slip. How refreshing! It was sweet and sour at the same time! The boy took another long gulp and smacked his lips together in its deliciousness. It was so good. He never had something like this before.

Giotto smiled and knew it was just powder and water mixed together. "I'm glad you like it." He said happily.

The boy pointed to Giotto's glass and Giotto understood the message. He drank his lemonade at the same time the boy drank his. Giotto smiled as he lowered his glass while the boy finished his. The boy handed the empty glass to the man and smiled to him in way to say thanks. Giotto smiled back as he took it from him. The boy looked to be fourteen but he acted as if he was four.

"Giotto, did the kid wake up yet?" G yelled out and broke the moment Giotto had with the boy. The brunet tensed up as he heard the voice come from out of nowhere.

"Yeah, he did!" Giotto called out and he looked back to the boy. "It's just my friend. I'll be right back."

The boy turned his head slightly as he watched the blond man leave the room. He kicked the blanket off and got up. There, he noticed he wasn't wearing the jeans he had on earlier but had on other clothes, bigger clothes that obviously didn't fit him. It was a giant white t-shirt that passed over his waist and long black jeans. They were very long because the sleeves passed over his feet but he s'til had his dog tags. The dog tags he grew up with and loved like a child would love its teddy bear.

He looked up and saw the door. He walked over to it and opened it up. He walked onto the porch and gasped as he saw the beach off in the distance. The sun was so bright and shinning that the boy had to cover his eyes with his hand to block it out. He looked down and saw the perfect pale sand and couldn't help to run off the porch to feel it with his own two feet.

The brunet smiled as his toes sank deeper into the sand until it was up to his ankles. This was so much fun for him; in fact, this was the only fun he ever had in a long time. He looked up and saw the sky. A sky that was different then the last time he saw it. It was a beautiful blue sky without a single cloud in it and he loved it. In fact, he loved it here. He never wants to go back and be tied up inside a black room for the rest of his life. He was so glad he escaped; only he wished he brought one of his fellow friends with him.

"Hey kid where'd you go?" Giotto called out as he walked onto the porch. The boy turned to him and smiled but that smile faded into a frown when he saw the redhead behind the blond man. The boy's eyes widen in disbelief as he ran over to the redhead. Giotto was stunned when the boy crash into G and hugged him as if they haven't seen each for years. G, to his surprise accepted the hug only because he never received such a heartwarming hug before.

"I thought you said you didn't know him." Giotto said to G.

"I don't. He just came up and hugged me. What do you want me to do? Push him away?" G snapped.

The boy pulled back and ran both of his hands through G's silky red hair. How wonderful it felt through his fingers but the color of the hair wasn't quite as he remembered it. He remembered it being silver, like polish metal. The boy looked at the fiery red tattoo on the right side of G's face and frown. That wasn't there before. The boy traced his finger over the tattoo from the top of G's right eye all the way down to the side of his neck. G just stood there, enjoying the attention while Giotto just stood in disgust. The boy stopped as an idea popped into his head. He stepped back and held up his dog tags to G, but it only confused the heck out of him.

"Huh? I don't get it?" G said as he took the dog tags in his hands.

"X-27…" G read the boy's number and the boy smiled. He knew his number; in fact he considered that his name and he liked hearing it coming from G's mouth. Hearing it from the look-alike of one of his past friends made him happy. A long lost friend that the boy had never forgotten and never stopped thinking about.

"I was wondering about that." Giotto said. "He has that same number on the back of his…" Giotto trailed off as the boy lifted up G's shirt. G gasped as the boy sneaked his head under it.

"Hey! Hey! No! Don't do that!" G jumped back and the boy frowned. The boy was determined to find the truth. He grabbed G's hand and pulled him down off the porch and onto the sand.

"Look, kid why don't you speak instead of showing me!" G said as the boy bended down to the sand and with his finger wrote a number in it. Giotto walked down the porch and saw the number. He himself was just as confused as G.

"X-59?" G said it out loud and the boy pointed to him. "Me? X-59?" he questioned. The boy nodded and G only dropped his mouth. This moment was something out of a horror film. He looked to Giotto who only smiled to him.

"I think that rules out the possibility of him not knowing Japanese." Giotto said with a smirk. "You owe me five hundred yen."

"Shut up!" G raised his voice and the boy backed away from him. "No, no I wasn't yelling at you." He said holding up his hands.

The boy looked to the sand and with his hand swished away the number. He remembered his friend who was another poor unfortunate soul that was taken from his family and brought up as a weapon. The boy remembered how tough his friend was. How smart and cunning he was and remembered wishing he could be like him. Unfortunately, the boy remembered how hard it was to control his friend. His friend didn't like being told what to do and didn't like to kill all the time. One day, those people like Daemon and Alaude decided to move him. The boy never saw his friend again. He thought of so many things as to what happened to his friend, but his mind always led to death. Always.

The boy looked to the man that was almost similar to his long lost friend and felt sadness. They looked so much alike. The boy blinked as he remembered he wasn't supposed to feel any kind of emotion. He was a weapon and weapons weren't meant to feel human emotion. He looked away and remembered the aggressive training he had to endured just to terminate those human emotions and ways to the express them. Talking and speaking was one of them. Talking with others was an expression of a creative mind so he had to learn to never talk, scream in pain, or even yell when upset. All those emotions he had to learn to never use. So he only listened. He understood Japanese and knew how to speak it, but rather not speak it all.

The brunet looked to G and bowed his head to him, in a way to say sorry for what he did. G wasn't his long last friend like he hoped him to be but for a short second he was happy. The boy gripped his shirt in front of where his heart lies and frowned. Now that he was in the outside world he couldn't stop feeling these long forgotten emotions. It was nice, but he wasn't sure if it was right for him to feel them since he was trained to never use them. But, he wasn't in that place anymore. He didn't have to hide his emotions anymore. He was free. It's just- he had to get use to it. Maybe that's it. He just had to get use to feeling those emotions and actually use them.

"Why does he like you so much?" Giotto asked as he folded his arms over his chest. He looked away from the kid bowing to G and couldn't believe what he was seeing so instead he advert his eyes.

"Like I know?" G turned to him.

"Guys…I woke up in the basement…" A new voice filled the boy's ears and he strengthened back up. He saw another redhead at the top of the porch rubbing his eyes. How come he never sensed him before? The boy stared at him and could tell the sleepy redhead was just like him. The boy could tell he had some sort of natural power, just like he did, only he wasn't sure what it was or if he was any kind of threat. The boy wished the new redhead wasn't any threat because he wasn't the in mood to kill.

"That goes to show you, Cozart. After your seventh beer don't you think it's about time to call it quits?" Giotto snapped.

Cozart held up both of his hands. "I'm pretty sure I had only ten beers."

"Oh wow, I was off by three." Giotto sucked his teeth. Was he the only one here with a working brain? G only laughed and the boy blinked. He didn't understand the joke.

"Hey who's that?" Cozart pointed to the boy with the black dog tags. "He looks like his Giotto's little brother or something like that…"

"Now that you mention it…he kinda does." G said.

"I would know if I had little brother and he is most certainly NOT my little brother." Giotto shot back.

The boy turned to the direction of the ocean and stared at the sparkles of sunlight reflecting off it. He didn't want to hear that anymore. He wasn't related to anyone besides lonesomeness. He closed his eyes as he remembered his long lost friend. The boy tried to picture his friend in his head but ended up with the image of a four year old. That was the age he befriended his friend at, but it was also the age he lost him at. Four. Not even a fully grown toddler and his friend could kill fifteen grown men in less than three minutes. How the boy loved him because he defied every rule. His friend refused to terminate his emotions and spoke openly all the time. He spoke vulgar, harsh words most of the time because he wanted to be normal. He wouldn't allow himself to become some kind of brainwashed machine, unlike the boy who willingly allowed himself to be brainwashed.

Giotto stopped as he looked to the boy and saw out of place he was. He was off in his own little world and Giotto wanted to be a part of it. He was curious about the boy. He found him in nothing but a pile of seaweed with just those dog tags. He looked lost and fragile. Giotto had a soft spot for those types of people and wanted to help him, but the boy was so bizarre. He didn't speak and he didn't seem to understand the simplest of things like drinking a glass of lemonade. Giotto wanted to know why. So, the only way to know was to ask questions or even befriend him.

"Hey, kid what's your name?" Giotto asked and the boy turned to him. The boy blinked as he held up his dog tags. "Come on, now. That really can't be your name." Giotto said and the boy looked down to the sand. That was his name. He could never remember his birth name. Never.

"Maybe he's just lost. Giotto you should take him to the police station or something. His parents might be worried sick." Cozart suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." G nodded his head to him.

"I found him in seaweed. What kind of parents allows their kids to do that?" Giotto shot back and the boy looked up to him in amazement. The blond man was defending him.

"Giotto…not all parents in this day and age were like yours. Not all parents love and spoil their kids." G said and Giotto was just about to go off when the boy raised his hand up to him. As if to say stop defending him because he has no idea what he was protecting. Giotto has no idea what the boy was capable of. The boy shook his head and Giotto only stared. He couldn't believe this.

"Wow…that's…weird?" Cozart said and the boy lowered his hand. The boy looked to Cozart and only frowned. He didn't like him because the boy knew he had some sort of power like he did. He knew he did. He was just another weapon like he was. The boy just wished he could tell what kind of power it was so he could have an idea how much of a threat he was. The boy turned swiftly and walked away making his way down the beach.

"How scary…" Cozart said as he rubbed the back of his head. "He glared at me."

"What did you do to him?" Giotto raised his voice and Cozart dropped his mouth open.

"Are you serious? What I did? I did nothing!" He shouted.

"Wait-kid!" Giotto ran after him not caring about his friends.

When they were far away from the beach house Giotto caught up to him and grabbed his hand. The boy jumped as he forcefully pulled his hand away. Nobody in his fourteen years of living ever touched him or touched him and lived for that matter. The boy frowned as he firmly pointed to the beach house and looked to Giotto. From that look on his face Giotto could tell the boy was serious. The boy wanted him to go back home.

"You don't have to leave." Giotto said and the boy was unyielding. Giotto looked down and sighed. "Okay, but at least tell me you know how to get home or even someplace safe." He looked back to him and the boy nodded his head. Giotto guessed that was some sort of comfort for his heart.

"Take care." Giotto said with a fake smile. "Come back any time. I'll make some more lemonade if you want."

* * *

><p>Daemon slammed the doors open as he stormed through the room. He was unbelievably mad and didn't want to cause a scene, but that failed. He entered the wide and opened room where X-27 made his mark on his escape. Daemon threw the thoughts of his failure out and easily walked into the prison zone because there wasn't a giant vault door to keep the two parts of building separated. He walked down the cleaned and bleached hallways that were once stained with blood and filled with dead body's parts. Now, they were spotless as if what ever happened didn't even occur. Daemon passed by many holding cells filled with more "weapons" but he wasn't there for them.<p>

He was here for Alaude. Daemon heard a disgusting rumor that Alaude was being held in one of them when Alaude wasn't even a weapon. He wanted to find the idiot who placed his beloved Alaude in one of those holding cell and probably smash his head to the wall. He turned into the corner and there was one of the many brilliant scientists that Daemon hated with a burning passion. He was at wrong place at the wrong time because he just became Daemon's victim. He was busy looking through papers on a clipboard and failed to see Daemon coming his way. He was one of those scientists who made Daemon the way he was. A living and breathing science experiment. Daemon sneered as he called upon his mist and it cling to him like bad habit. He sent it out and the mist traveled to the redhead scientist and scared him shitless.

"D-d-d-daemon-sama!" The redhead with glasses stuttered as he turned to him.

"Where is my beloved Alaude?" He asked with a frightening smirk.

"Um-um-well, you see-he's in containment because he-he-he-he-um-um-well." The man pushed his falling glasses up his nose and tried to juggle his falling papers.

"I'm listening." Daemon said firmly.

"He-he-he-he-he-well, please don't get mad. He sorta, kind of…" The redhead stopped to push his falling glasses up once more and dropped all his papers. He went down on his knees and quickly started to pick them up; pushing his glasses back up his nose as he went. Daemon bit his tongue and the mist hardened around him. The mist hardened to the point it turned black. It molded into a black hand and snatched scientist's body. It squeezed him like a stress ball.

"I don't have all the time in the world." Daemon hissed as the mist loosened just a little for air to fill the scientist's lungs.

"He assisted X-27 in his escape!" The redhead practically screamed.

The mist returned to its original state and color before it traveled back Daemon. He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought of himself as a fool. He heard the rumors of Alaude, his dear partner assisting X-27 with the boy's escape but thought nothing of it. He trusted Alaude, he cared for him and hearing bad rumors of him wasn't really something that interested Daemon, but hearing it truly from this idiot, made Daemon think twice.

"Ehhh? Daemon-chan? Why are you playing with Sho-chan?" A new voice called from behind Daemon. He turned to the person and only frowned. Fuck! He hated this person with an even bigger burning passion. The white-haired-marshmallows-eating fiend was the one in charge of EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY. He was the one was created this place. It was his job to collect and mature all humans with any advance type of natural power. Daemon never liked him. He was too cheerful for someone who was sick and evil.

"Byakuran-sama!" The redhead stood up quickly and Byakuran smiled. He held a bag of tiny marshmallows and was eating them like potato chips.

"Sho-chan, you're so silly." His white hair fell upon his right eye. He had a small purple tattoo under his left eye and it made no goddamn lick of sense to Daemon. They were upside down connected triangles.

"Maybe, Daemon-kun should play with people his own age." Byakuran chuckled cutely.

"I wished I could but someone stole my Alaude from me." Daemon fired back.

"Haha-Daemon-kun you're so funny. I like the way you think. I would be pretty upset too if someone steals away my Sho-chan." Byakuran looked to the redhead and smiled to him. "Ne, Sho-chan don't you and Spanner-kun have some robot to be playing with?"

"Um, well yes, but-"

"Cancel that. I need your help with something." Byakuran cut him off as he squished a tiny marshmallow between two fingers.

"If you'll excuse me, I must be going." Daemon said but before he could even take a step Byakuran stopped him.

"Walk with us, Daemon-kun. Since we're all going to pay a visit to Alaude-kun." Byakuran beamed with a smile. Daemon faked a smile but his heart was beating so hard in his chest. Shit! It couldn't be good if the fucking owner and head of all departments needed to see Alaude. He had no choice and followed close to Byakuran.

Daemon could see from the corner of his eye Byakuran placing marshmallows after marshmallows into his mouth. Every little thing like that pissed of Daemon. He hid his anger and displeasure by thinking about Aluade. Why would Alaude help that kid for? What was the point of doing it anyway? The kid was a weapon and has no idea of the outside world. Daemon didn't even remember Alaude leaving his side to help the kid. He was quite sure Alaude never left him. He's 100% sure he never left, but obviously he did.

"Ne, Daemon-kun what's your experiment number?" Byakuran asked and Daemon looked to him.

"Excuse me?" He sounded irritated.

"You know-" Byakuran popped a marshmallow into his mouth. "Your number from the experiment testing you and Alaude voluntarily took."

"Voluntarily? I don't remember it being voluntarily." Daemon fired back.

"Oh, that's right. In your case, to be experimented on and survive was a get-out-of-jail card because you assassinated some people. While in Alaude's case, he loved working for me so much that he voluntarily entered in the programming. I remembered how marvellously he passed every test. He had no side effects or disorders. He was the perfect advance human that mankind can create." Byakuran boasted and Daemon tightened his fist.

"I assassinated the royal imperial family of Japan and I have my reasons why, but that's not that point. What does my experiment number have any relevance to current events." Daemon stopped at the moment Byakuran did.

"You see out of the hundred and fifty test subject only five survived. You and Alaude were one of them and third one lives freely in Namimori. The other two are in another country protecting other faculties much like this." Byakuran opened a door and nodded Daemon to enter.

"That doesn't answer my question." Daemon stood firmly as if he didn't want to enter the room. Byakuran only smiled and stood there 'til finally Daemon couldn't take it. He stepped in and Byakuran followed with Sho-chan by his side. Daemon rushed to the window and saw into the other room where Alaude was being held in.

"Alaude…" Daemon muttered as he reached out and touched the glass. He could tell Alaude was in pain. He could see his blood dripping downs his wrists and onto the floor, all caused by the metal thick chains. They force him on his knees, gasping for air as if he never had any. There was so much blood around him and on him. Some hints of blood were even in his hair, changing it to a dark yellow. Daemon bit his tongue 'til he tasted rust. He was mad. Nobody ever had the right to touch, let only hurt his Alaude.

"Experiment X-01-A, or Alaude as we know him has endured many drug trials and while under the influence of those drugs he managed to destroy fifteen turrets, kill over ten men with just the thought of his mind. His range of telekinetic powers is nine kilometers from himself, but from the power of the drugs and large amount of time he was being using his power, his range shorten to about five meters. He is slowly losing the will power to fight and stay awake." Sho-chan read off the chart that was sitting perfecting on a desk in the corner. He gulped as he picked it up and continued to read out loud the rest of the data.

"X-01-A is very solitary person but has befriended X-04-D, who as we know is…Daemon." Sho-chan looked to him and only frowned. He felt awful. He looked back to the paper and quickly read the rest. "He was the only one out of five that survived the testing that occurred almost seven years ago."

"So in other words, you and Alaude are very outdated. I need new weapons and you two idiots let my favorite weapon escape. I say, you come up with a good plan to get him back or I'll have no choice but…disband the both of you." Byakuran whispered in his ear.


	3. X03X

**Monstrous **

Alaude was slowing losing his mind. He was losing his grip on what was real and what were fragments of his past. His wrists were numb from the blood lost his chains created. They dug deep into his skin, but that wasn't the worst part. The drugs were kicking in. He wouldn't be able to protect himself if he's unconscious. His eyes continued to droop and close ever so often. He would force them back open but the process would only repeat itself. He felt so dense to be stuck in such predicament. It was only a matter of time. Before they kill him.

"_You're kidding me right? You're three years younger than me and I'm YOUR partner? What a joke. It should be the other way around!" _

A memory of Daemon as a teenager started to play in Alaude's head. He closed his eyes and saw the memory play fully. The two friends were in the courtyard of the research faultily somewhere on the mainland of Japan. It was a faultily to train the newly age experiments with their newly equipped powers. Unfortunately, the faultily today was nothing but in shambles because most of the test subjects died, but of course, except Alaude, Daemon and three others.

Alaude, in his memory was fourteen and Daemon was seventeen. How Alaude, a fourteen year old at the time was working for some government science research program was beyond deep in his memories. He had completely forgotten how he was involved in it and regretted ever joining such a research program. It completely changed his life. But in the long run, he met Daemon.

That's what's important. Daemon.

"_It's because I'm better than you. It's common sense." The young Alaude replied as the summer breeze swayed his yellow hair. "They think I'll survive longer than you…so might as well put me in charge. Like I said, common sense." _

"_Is that so?" Daemon said as he tossed his light indigo hair back. He crossed his arms in front of him and turned his head slightly. He looked at Alaude from head to toe and only smirked. Just that smile pissed of Alaude. Daemon didn't want to believe he was going to take orders from a child. _

"_I know so." Alaude looked away. "I know you're a killer. I know you're not sane. Those who are miserable tend to make others as miserable as them. That's why people like you die first and people like me, watch and observe." _

_Daemon softy scoffed to the side. "Great minds think alike." _

"_Excuse me?" Alaude quickly looked back to him. He was easily offended and Daemon caught the side of his bad temper. How he loved it. He was going to enjoy pissing him off every now and then. He was going to love this partnership. _

"_Great minds think alike because I was thinking the same for you." Daemon flashed a grin and that was the first time ever, Alaude's heart rushed. _

Alaude slightly opened his eyes as reality came back into view. The same white tile and fluorescent lights are what forced his eyes to squint and lower his head. Why was it so hard to breathe? So hard to keep focus? Why couldn't he live a bit longer? Even if it was for an hour, he would use that time to see Daemon and hit him. Hit him so hard that he goes flying back and probably hit the wall. Maybe then, some common sense would enter him and then he would realize Alaude's true feelings.

"_You're quiet! You're against speaking. You're bland and boring. You never speak your feelings. You hold all that shit in! You know, one day it's all going to come out when you least expect it to and when it does, I hope I'm there to see your mental break down!" _

Daemon's shouts echoed in Alaude's head. He sighed softly as he remembered the first fight they had. It was built up of anger that they both released on each other. 'til this day, Alaude regretted everything he said. He closed his eyes and it flashed in his head. He felt his throat tightened as if a rock clogged it. He constricted his hands into fist as he felt the pain all over again.

There was a beautiful sunset off in the distance and the two friends were in the same courtyard where they first met. Summer was almost over and Alaude remembered hating Daemon with such a burning passion that even seeing his face made cringe. Daemon made Alaude's summer hell and Alaude knew he did it on purpose. What forced each other to yell and shout could have been anything, but the words they shouted were cruel. Unbelievably cruel.

"_What will happen in the future when you meet that someone special? Are you going to keep everything hidden from her? I know right now, we're not considered…normal but in a sense, normal things can happen to us. How goddamn hard is it to say 'oh I'm angry' or 'I'm happy'! Speak and be heard you worthless mute monster!" Daemon shouted. _

"_I'm the monster? I didn't murder a royal family without reason! A HUMAN reason! Not because I felt it was right! People like you are the reason why I tend to be alone. You're crazy and self-centered! You think the whole world revolves around you! You are the most annoying person I ever met! You claim everything is yours and you think you have every right to cherish it and protect it? What happens when you lost that special object? Then you feel so…so…lost! That's why you don't claim anything! That's why you stay far away and never touch anything with your heart!" _

_Alaude's voice broke as tiny hot tears slipped out of his eyes. At that moment, he remembered losing something important to him. He lost family and real friends. People he touched with his heart but had to forget because he was reborn into a monster. He remembered he had to fake his own death. Now, those people were nothing but blur images. Daemon saw a broken Alaude for the first time and looked away. He caused this and felt bad, but knew it was for the best. He quickly glanced back to him and was completely devastated. He got his wish and saw Alaude's mental breakdown. He wished he could take what he said back._

"_You're…you're…so stupid!" Alaude shouted. "I hate you!" _

"_Alaude…?" Daemon took a step closer to him. _

"_No! Shut up! Don't speak to me!" He backed away. "Don't….don't come near me!" _

"_Why are you crying?" He practically whispered on the wind but Alaude heard it perfectly. Fuck. He really was crying. _

"_I said-" Alaude started but broke off when shock over came him. Daemon took the only chance he had and grabbed Alaude's hand. He pulled him forcefully in to him and the blond froze completely. He was trapped in a hug. _

_A hug. A real, loving hug. _

Alaude never experienced such a thing. Never before. He wished he never spent that time crying into Daemon's shoulder and actually returned that hug. Now, he'll never have that chance again, because he was going to die, alone. He always knew he was going to die alone. He just never thought so soon. Why did he hold so many regrets? Why couldn't he die in peace? Why couldn't he die in serenity?

Before he knew it, Alaude was slapped. Hard.

"Time to wake up." said one of the annoying guards whose job was to administrate the drug supplements. Alaude grew angry and the guard quickly backed away from him. So far that he reached the back wall. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, I forgot only five meters!"

Nobody likes being slapped. Nobody likes being locked up in chains until they bled. Nobody likes being drugged. Nobody likes being shot at with turrets. Nobody likes being attacked by several armed men. Nobody wants to be programmed with some abnormal power and treated like crap. Nobody. So what gave the people the right to treat those poor unfortunate souls like shit? Nothing.

"I'll murder you…" Alaude spoke hoarsely. He slowly raised his head back up and his hair covered the left side of his face. It gave him a more psychotic appearance about him which was his intention. With just a thought of his mind, Alaude could make others around him grow insane. He loved doing that. It was wrong, but he loved it. He could make others around him kill their love ones, their best friends or their family and they wouldn't even know it. How he loved it. It made him feel like he was control of the entire human race.

"I'll rip you in two…without even blinking…" Aluade stared at him or into the guard's soul really hard. Or Alaude could literally just pull the guard's limbs apart and watch his blood color the walls. An instant death but it wasn't fun like actually controlling someone's death.

The guard laughed. "Yeah, yeah, coming from the guy in chains."

Alaude groaned as a high pitch twinge reached his ears drums. He grinded his teeth together and knew they played this high pitch frequency to make him incapable to focus his mind on anything he could use his telekinesis on. Oh god! It was unbearable and he felt like throwing up. He groaned louder and finally let out a pain yell.

He gasped for air as it stopped and he completely dropped his head. That was pure ache. It would be understandable if he was bleeding from the ears. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to lose this fight. Fuck! Why couldn't he at least put up a fight? Why couldn't he go out with a bang? He wanted to kill them all. He wanted to murder them all. Watch them die and leave this world. See their last breath escape their lungs. He wanted to see…

"Hey…"

Alaude opened his eyes slightly and knew that voice. What gave him the strength, the power to look up and see that idiot was beyond him. He felt happiness and maybe a bit of anger when he saw him. That person was probably thinking how he had the upper hand right now. He was probably thinking he's so high and mighty just because he saved Alaude.

He probably was, because Alaude could see it on his face.

"How dare you allow others to touch you? Last time I checked…you're mine." Daemon flashed a grin and Alaude's heart rushed.

X-27 gripped the rain as it fell in his open palm. He looked up and allowed the tiny cool raindrops to fall on his face. He had no idea what this was. How can water fall from the sky? He smiled and opened his mouth. He felt the rain tickle his tongue and he giggled. This water was fun to play with. He was far from the beach and Giotto. He had no idea how far he traveled but he was surrounded by trees and bushes. The boy didn't even have the slightest clue he was in Namimori forest which was very far from the beach. Far from the person he became friends with.

That's why he left. He didn't want to be friends. He didn't want to be friends with somebody normal because sooner or later, they'll find out what he truly was. That the boy was truly nothing but a weapon that was only meant to kill. Nobody wants to befriend such an evil and purposely creature. The boy frowned and knew he was only talking down about himself.

X-27 turned around and saw a stone stairway that lead up to a large stone shrine. He turned his head slightly and decided to walk over to it. Each step he took was a step closer to the shrine and he can see it grow bigger. The brunet stopped when a loud crashing noise boomed over him. He looked to the sky and saw nothing but a dark gray color. He had no know clue what rain and thunder was.

He shrugged his shoulders and continued his climb. When he reached the top of the stone stairs, large drops of water began to fall. He rushed under the shrine so he wouldn't get wet. The boy saw it was pelting rain and was glad he wasn't getting wet. He stood under the safety of the shrine and saw cat like statues surrounding the shrine. Not only cats, but dog ones too. The cats had red jewel eyes and the dogs with light blue jewel ones. He walked over to a cat statue and saw Japanese characters on them.

From the statues, he could tell it was a shrine for those who had passed away. He stepped back and knew never to mess with the dead. What if the people he killed came back to life and wanted revenge? Would they have blood inside them, so the boy could easily kill them again? He hoped so. He didn't even want to think about that. A fast and beating heart is what he sensed from the distance and the boy turned tense. He looked to the stairs and saw a girl running up to reach the safety of the shrine.

It was a school girl who was caught under the rain. She had her book bag over her head to protect her from the pelting rain. The boy froze. Never, in his life, has he seen the opposite sex until now. He didn't know what to do. She was pretty. She was beyond pretty. She was gorgeous with short carrot hair that passed over her ears. She looked so innocent in her school uniform. Like a Goddess.

"Oh, hello." She said as she rushed under the shrine. "Looks like I'm not the only one who was caught under the rain. My class mates must be worried sick about me. I told the teacher it was going to rain and maybe we should have postponed the field trip but he didn't listen."

The boy only stared. It was summer. Why was she in school? That was something he wanted to ask, but talking was s'til a human way of expressing emotion. He was s'til a weapon. Something that wasn't human.

The girl blinked and smiled brightly to him. "My name is Kyoko. What's your name?"

The boy stared admiringly and lifted up his dog tags with one hand. His eyes never left her simple yet elegant face. She giggled and found X-27 very funny. The boy's eyes widen as he never heard a girl's laugh before. It sounded soft and warm. He felt funny inside. He felt this funny tickling sensation in his chest. He looked away and didn't know what it was. The boy had no idea that it was the funny feeling you get when you're attracted to somebody.

Kyoko leaned into to him and read the tags but X-27 turned away because she was leaning into his chest. He felt his heart rush and his cheeks burn like they were on fire. He had no idea he was blushing; which was a humanly thing to do, so in a sense, he was learning to be human. Only, he had no idea what blushing actually was. These things never happened to him before. X-27 sucked in air as the girl back away and laughed.

"X-27 really can't be your name!" She laughed a bit louder. "You're like a lost puppy! With silly dog tags!"

The boy stood there and watched her laughter. It was cute and he felt a tickling sensation moved down into his stomach.

"Boys are so silly! My brother likes to box and to me it just looks like boys in their underwear wearing nothing else but oven mitts. Since then, all boys are so silly to me!"

The boy slowly smiled too. He wanted to copy what she was doing. Laughing looked enjoyable. He hasn't done it in a while. He wasn't even sure if it was right for him to let out a chuckle let alone laugh his butt off. He bit his tongue and knew it wasn't right. He looked away and wanted to scold himself. He wasn't there anymore. He doesn't need to suppress his emotions anymore, but it just didn't FEEL right.

"So, why are you visiting the shrine-oh! Were you mourning over somebody? I didn't mean to interrupt!" She gasped and covered her mouth.

The boy shook his head furiously no.

"Oh, well, that's a good thing." She said looking down to her book bag. Then, an amazing idea popped into her. "Hey! Maybe twenty-seven is truly your name!" She looked to the brunet and smiled to him. He returned with a small and broken one. The girl laughed as she bended down and looked through her wet book bag.

"You see numbers can represent characters. Hiragana symbols." She looked through a book until she found the page. She straightened back up and showed him the page. "You see! But this is something you learn in elementary school that's why I forgot about it. Good thing I'm taking a calligraphy class." She boasted. The boy blinked as he stared at the symbols. The girl pulled the book away and looked at the symbols herself. When she found the two symbols that matched with his number she turned to him. She smiled as he called his name.

"Tsuna! Tsuna is your name!" She smiled at him. The boy blinked as he heard the name repeat over in his head. That sounded more like tuna. He didn't like it.

"Tsuna. Hmm…it fits you perfectly." Kyoko beamed to him. "Can you say it? Tsu-na?"

X-27 shook his head no and the girl froze.

"Why? Why can't you speak? Are…are…you special?" She asked and shook her head. "No, Kyoko-chan that's something you don't ask!" She scolded herself. "I'm sorry that was out of line." She bowed to him and apologized. The boy held up his hands. He didn't need to be treated with such kindness. He doesn't need it.

"You know you being quite really suits you. I kinda like it." She looked away and saw the rain turned lighter. "I think it's time for me to go. I think this kind of rain won't get me too wet."

The boy looked to the ground. He didn't want her to leave.

"Well…I should wait 'til it completely clears so I won't catch a cold later. So brother won't worry if I get sick." She spoke to herself rather to the boy who perked up. She turned to him and smiled once again.

"So what part of town do you live in? You don't look like a foreigner." She said and boy shook his head.

"Oh, so you're not from Japan?" She said somewhat confused. The boy shook his head again.

"I don't understand. Why don't you speak to me?"

The boy looked away and gripped his shirt. He wasn't going to speak. Not ever.

"Okay. I get it. It's fine with me. Hey? Do you go to school? You look like you go to one of those all boys' school. My best friend talks about this smart-one-of-kind-boy. I think his name is Gokudera. Not my friend, the boy she talks about." Kyoko just went off talking and the boy could only listen. There was not much he could take from what she was saying. So he listened.

"Now, that I think about it, tonight is the summer festival. There is going to be lots of foods and prizes and everything! Haru couldn't stop talking about it since me and her are going on a double date with Gokudera and his best friend. Hey! We can bring you along to! You wouldn't be a bother or a third wheel. So come on!" Kyoko grabbed X-27's hands and squeezed. "You have to promise me! You'll be there!"

The boy froze. He didn't like to be touched. He never did. But, with her, it was different. She was so pretty and soft and warm and loveable. He didn't seem to mind. So the boy slowly nodded his head and the girl squealed. The boy flinched as the high pitch sound hurt his ears. The girl giggled and apologized before she looked out and saw the rain as finally stopped. She didn't want to go.

"Well, it's time for me to go. It was nice meeting you Tsuna-kun. See you at the festival." She smiled at him before she walked down the stairs. The boy's eyebrows crumbled together as he didn't like to be called by such a name. That unpleased expression on his face changed when Kyoko looked back to him and waved him a goodbye. The boy lifted up his hand and in a stiff posture waved back. The girl was halfway down the bottom of the stairs when she waved to him. As she turned away to continue she didn't see the tiny puddle of water on her next step. It was unavoidable. She slipped and fell.

The boy's heart clenched as he ran down the stairs. What was this? Was this care? Concern? Since when did he start feeling this emotion? Either way the boy didn't have time to focus of that. The boy helped her to her feet and Kyoko only giggled but X-27 was very concern when he saw a small trail of blood running down the side of her head.

"Wow, I'm so clumsy." She smiled wearily to him. "I really need to get going."

She said turning away but X-27 grabbed her hand and pulled her back. There was this itch inside him. It was because of her exposed blood. It's as if the blood is calling to him, for him to use to his wildest dreams. The boy continued to stare at the blood and didn't care for anything else. He was numb all over again. He was back to being that weapon in that white room with straps and chains to contain him. Kyoko had no idea what she gotten herself into and looked at him.

"Tsuna, you're hurting me!"

* * *

><p>There was a cargo bay connected to the faultily where X-27 escaped from. In it were a few vehicles, but mostly military warheads and helicopters. Off in the corner of the cargo hanger was a black military helicopter. It was much more advanced than the others ones in the hanger. It had two rapid fire machine guns and two others on its sides for stationed men to use. A total of four machine guns. It was big but it was heavy. It had the word "Freedom" printed on the side of the window because the pilot who's authorized to fly it wanted freedom. He too wanted to be away from this place.<p>

"What was Daemon thinking?" The pilot jumped down from the top of the helicopter to the ground. He just finished giving his routine check on the propellers. His silver dog tags jumbled over his orange jumpsuit. The jumpsuit had his number printed over his heart. X-03-D was his experiment number. He took his blond hair and typed it up in a messy pony tail. He was one of the five that survived the experiment testing and was a good friend to Daemon and Alaude.

"How am I supposed to know?" A redhead turned to him and his silver dog tags jingled. He was also one of the five that endured the testing, but he was also someone we knew. We know him as Cozart.

"I wanted sovereignty, but not like this." The blond turned to his only possession in his twenty-two years of living and frowned. It was hard to give up such a wonderful thing.

"Hey, Dino…" Cozart called to him. "Didn't you say you have some kid of yours lock up in here?"

A startled Dino jumped. "Mine? I never said he was mine!"

"You know what I meant." Cozart smirked happily at Dino's reaction.

"Well, yeah I do know a kid but I haven't seen him since he was four. I only took care of him because Byakuran asked me to. It's not like I wanted to. I mean, taking care of kid all the time was annoying. I could have-"

"Dino, I didn't ask for an explanation." Cozart interrupted.

Dino blushed lightly. "Oh, oh, never mind then."

"What was his name?" Cozart asked.

"What do you mean? His number or his real name." Dino walked over to the table and started fumbling through a tool box.

"The name you gave him." Cozart said and Dino froze. That's right. The name he gave to the kid because the kid didn't like having a number. The child wanted to be normal but was forced like the children to forget human way of life. They had to become weapons and be locked up because they were considered a different race. A far more advanced race that was meant to obliterate humans because humans were being obsolete.

"Kyoya." Dino answered finally. There was a silence and Cozart could see grief on Dino's face. It wasn't hard to see it. Cozart turned away and looked down to his dog tags.

"What if…what if I could get him?" Cozart said and Dino turned to him. Shock and joy filled his heart but everything comes with a price. He found this too hard to believe.

"What do you mean?" Dino snapped.

"I mean, what if I free all the natural born test subjects. They don't deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives." Cozart explained as he turned to him. "I saw X-27 today. He looked so free and happy. What can't the others be like that? It isn't fair!"

"What a minute? You saw X-27 and lived? There's a record of him killing anybody that reached seven meters from him. He didn't even care if they were just walking by him. He killed them all and that was when he was six! Imagine now! He's fourteen! That means his range must have grown larger!" Dino practically shouted.

"For some reason, he's change." Cozart shook his head.

"When I see it, I'll believe it!"

The two stopped when a bright red light at the top of the hanger flashed and a warning buzzer went off. It was the same type of alarm that when off when X-27 escaped. The two comrades looked at one another with such a serious expression that lasted for a quick second. They knew it was time. Dino dropped everything and picked up the black helmet from the table and threw it to Cozart. He caught in time but looked confused as to why he needed it.

"Why do I need this?" He questioned.

"We're breaking Alaude and Daemon out of here. If they see your face, they'll try to find you and kill everybody close to you. I'm sure you don't want to bring your two best friends into this." Dino explained as he quickly unzipped the jumpsuit and stepped out of it. Cozart blinked in surprise and looked down to the visor of the helmet. He could see his reflection but he also saw Giotto and G's face. He couldn't lose them. Those two were his only friends. They were his only thread to humanity. They were the gravity that brought him back to sanity.

He closed his eyes and placed the helmet over his head. When he opened them, he was back to what he was almost ten years ago.

A monster.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **From the reviews I can say most readers are enjoying this horror, sci-fi. Don't worry the romance is coming! Give it time! Thank you reviewers and readers! You guys are awesome so please keep on reviewing!


	4. X04X

**Tears of a Liar **

Cozart wasn't the type to kill.

He wasn't a murderer, but under the fortification of the helmet he wore, he had to be. He had a burning temptation to murder every single person that ran out in front of him. Workers, scientists, even regular people, he wanted to see them die before him. They were people who wanted to watch, train, and experiment with the Altered; the children with natural born powers like X-27. They wanted to see how much the Altered can endure pain and other science crap Cozart probably couldn't come up with. Cozart was glad he was given a somewhat normal life. He wanted the children to have it too.

The Altered were mutated humans that was discovered not too long ago. It was a global widespread of a new race of humans that nobody knew of. They were hidden inside faculties like the one X-27 was in. The Altered were mentally and physically advance then the normal human mind and body. The scientists feared they would extinguish the human race and repopulate the earth with their own kind, but that can't happen if they're contained. That was why most of the Altered are brought to the testing centers as children. At a young age they can be taught to act less like humans and be brought up more like weapons. Byakuran wanted them to be weapons. Nobody knew why and nobody dared to ask.

The Altered population was growing and the scientist couldn't come up with some kind of vaccine make the Altered's powers go away. So instead, they decided to turn regular humans into a somewhat replica of an Altered's body. That's where Cozart, Dino, Alaude, and Daemon fit in. Who knows why they were chosen. It was an amazing idea. What shocked the scientist the most was that they never expected only five teenagers to survive such testing. No matter what, the scientists couldn't up with any possibility to stop the Altered's population numbers from rising. The Altered race was a problem that needed a solution because they feared that the human race was at its peak.

Cozart forced himself back to reality as he walked through the hallways. He knew these hallways inside and out. This was his only chance to destroy them. The metal walls around him bended and broke like paper being crumpled up into a ball. This was his power. Any kind of metal in a liquid, solid, or gas state he could control it just like how X-27 can control blood. He wasn't proud of such a thing, but it wasn't like asked to have such a gift in the first place.

It wasn't his power that was frightening; it was his range of power. His range was a bombing fifteen meters from himself. That's a very long distance. He could make the whole building collapse if he wanted too, but he was searching for two particular people. He had no idea where Alaude or Daemon could be but he prayed they were together. He didn't want to go looking for both of them separately. The more time he was here, the more time he was away from Giotto and G.

"There he is! Shoot!" A group of men with guns confronted Cozart.

Cozart wasn't the type the kill. He wasn't. He closed his eyes and pictured his two best friends in his head. He didn't need to think and his power acted like a shield for him. It stopped the bullets and made them slowly fall to the floor like feathers falling to the ground. Cozart wasn't the type to kill but he had to be. Just for today. Just for this dreadful evening.

The guns the soldiers once held were forcefully pulled out of their hands and turned on them. Seconds after, the guns fired and left no man alive. Cozart didn't need to think about it. It was the same as breathing and blinking. You just had to do it or your body will force you. The guns fell when they no longer served a purpose. Cozart opened his eyes and knew he wasn't a murderer.

It continued like this throughout the whole search of the building. Cozart was getting anxious. He found himself lost in an open space room that at its end had a large vault door. The vault door was gone and left an easy opening to the area where all the Altered children were held. This was where he had to be if wanted to free them all. Cozart didn't think twice and began his walk through the other part of building.

"I don't need your help…get off."

Cozart started to run as he heard Alaude's voice.

"You obviously can't walk on your own since you're drunk." Daemon's voice came next.

"I'm drugged. Not drunk, you pineapple haired idiot."

Cozart turned the corner and saw them together. It was a sweet relief but it became annoying taking care of two adults who bicker more frequently than a married couple. Cozart was happy to meet them again. He only had an image of them as teenagers and now he saw them as men. Times flies pretty quickly when you're separated.

"Excuse me? Pineapple?" Daemon snapped as he held Alaude up with an arm wrapped around his waist. Alaude had an arm over Daemon's shoulders and looked completely damage from the inside out. Daemon and Alaude looked older than the last time Cozart saw them. He smiled from inside his helmet as he realized they were a lot closer then the last time he remembered. Alaude scoffed as he knew it was Cozart the second he laid eyes on him.

"It's hard to believe you asked for help." Alaude said as he looked to Daemon. "You're not the type to ask."

"Breaking you free from here requires me to perform actions I never done before. Do you _not_ feel special, Alaude?" Daemon snickered.

"I'll kill you." Alaude hissed.

"We don't have time to waste-" Cozart said and the two turned to him questioningly. The deathly stare they gave off could have killed anyone. There was a quick silence and Alaude raised an eyebrow.

"You really think you can free a total of a hundred-thirty-five Altered children? Did you hit your head on your way here?" Alaude asked sarcastically as he read through Cozart's mind before Cozart couldn't even complete the thought. Cozart sucked his teeth as he hated that. Alaude had his annoying telekinesis.

"Nufufu, I think he's serious." Daemon said shaking his head. "Why is everyone turning soft?"

"He thinks they deserve a normal life just like we do." Alaude said as he continued to search through Cozart's mind. "He thinks they're all soft and kindhearted like X-27."

"What a pleasant idea." Daemon said with a smile as he changed his mind. "I say we release those snot nose brats."

Alaude quickly read through Daemon's mind and shook his head. "You just want to do it just so you can get back at Byakuran."

"While you're in there, did you see any of my _wonderful _daydreams I have for you? Some I wish to become a reality." Daemon snickered.

Alaude sucked air. "Perverted pineapple…"

"I'm serious!" Cozart shouted. "I'm going to free them! If you two want to go on ahead without me, fine! But I'm not leaving 'til the last kid steps out his holding vault!"

Daemon and Alaude raised an eyebrow at the same time and Cozart found that peculiar and daunting. Cozart was severe as he walked around them and walked deeper into the holding division of the building. He was completely serious and he didn't care if he had to leave them alone. He wanted to free the altered and he wasn't leaving 'til he did.

"Wait!" Alaude and Daemon shouted together and looked to one another afterwards. A surprised Cozart actually did, in fact he even turned around to look at them. Why did he find them; Alaude and Daemon, so cute together? They hated each other or that's what Cozart used to think. What was wrong with him? He was somewhat envious that he did not have such a person close to him like Alaude had Daemon.

"I'm going to put you down, now." Daemon said as he gently placed Alaude up against the wall. Alaude leaned up against it and felt a shiver of coldness run through him. He really didn't want to go back there. He was finally free with Daemon and now he had to go back? He just wanted to make a break for it.

"This…is crazy." Alaude mumbled as he looked down to the floor. His yellow bangs fell over his eyes and Daemon faked a smile. That expression on Alaude's face hurt him so much. Daemon knew Alaude didn't want to go back so he came up with a brilliant idea on the spot. He pulled out poker card from his trench coat pocket and from the top of the deck, spread four cards with his hand.

"Pick one, please." Daemon said with cunning smile. Alaude looked up to him with a questioning expression. Daemon nodded him forward and Alaude shook his head 'no'. Alaude already knew what he was planning the cards from reading Daemon's mind. Sometimes, his own power would just work for him. He didn't even need to think about it.

"No." Alaude said firmly. "It's a Queen of hearts, King of Spades, Ten Hearts, and Four Clubs."

Daemon shook his head and said a bit agitated "Don't keep Cozart waiting, now."

"No." Alaude fired back.

"How about I give you a little present first and in return, you choose a card?" Daemon said as he took a step closer to him.

"How about I tell you to stick your cards up your-"

Cozart looked away and pretended he didn't see the gentle kiss Daemon placed on Alaude's lips. Alaude's eyes widen as his mind went through a million thoughts. His heart was out of control and thought it might break from the overload of blood it was pumping. It was a small and short kiss, but it was enough to keep Alaude alive for a hundred years. When it was over Daemon, smiled and tucked away some of Alaude's bangs behind his ear.

"I've been meaning to do that for quite some time now." Daemon said as he picked the card for Alaude. Daemon knew Alaude wouldn't be able to comprehend if you asked him his own name, so he chose the card for him. Alaude, unable to say anything just stared at him. Daemon smiled as flashed the King of Spades to Alaude. It was fake smile. Alaude could tell but he was so slow to catch it.

"I'll see you in a later time, my love." Daemon said as the card turned black and Alaude slowly and steadily vanished. Daemon looked down to the darken card and sighed. He hated doing that. Trapping people inside cards wasn't all that comforting. He couldn't sense their souls, their hearts or anything. It was as if they never existed. The wrong place to put Alaude in. Cozart looked back when he thought it was over, but when he saw that Alaude was nowhere in sight he panicked

"Where'd Alaude go?" He asked desperately.

Daemon placed the black card on the top of the deck and started to shuffle them. He turned to Cozart and grinned as the cards turned to a dark mist and clung to him like moths to a flame. A sudden dark chill ran up and down Cozart's spin. He remembered this fright. He would always feel it when Daemon was around. It was normal, in a sense. Daemon dropped his hands to his side and grinned evilly like he always did.

"Let's get this over with, while I'm still alive."

* * *

><p>X-27 dug through the garbage bin in an alley of a restaurant with a pizza crust in his mouth. When he found a dirty and used winter sweater, he jumped out of the smelly green bin. He was in the city of Namimori now. It was further from the forest but a bit closer to the beach. He found a small box and made it into a home. He placed the sweater inside the box and tried to make it fluffy and comfortable as possible. He took the pizza crust out of his mouth and broke it into four pieces.<p>

Once he was done, he picked up two baby kittens and placed them inside the home.

They were just babies. They didn't even have their eyes open yet and weren't ready to eat solid food. They needed their mother's milk. That was why they were crying and whining like crazy, but this was unknown to the boy. He sat there a few feet away from the box, watching like a hawk. Why didn't they eat? Weren't they hungry? They couldn't be cold since they were inside the box. The boy had a million of questions but none of them were answered.

He leaned up against the garbage bin and hugged his knees. He only wanted to help. Just like he wanted to help that girl.

Kyoko hit her head very badly. If untreated it could have been a minor concussion, but X-27 helped her. He didn't understand. Why did she scream for? He wasn't hurting her. He was only trying to help her. He remembered he carefully placed his hand on the side of her head and pushed the blood back into her skull. He had done this before. During the testing, he would get minor wounds and all he had to do was send the blood back in and magically the wounds healed themselves. This was his natural power.

Unfortunately, she screamed. The scream was so loud that the boy jump up in fear that he hurt her when maybe, by accident, may have popped a vein inside her head. Kyoko fell back but the boy caught her time. He placed her down gently and tried to fix what he did but before he even had the chance, someone called her name. People where looking for her and the boy didn't want to be caught alone with her while she was unconscious. So he ran. Originally, he was running to the beach but realized he was running to Giotto. He stopped where he was and knew after what he did he couldn't go to him. That was when he heard the tiny cries of kittens suck in a street drain.

Which led him to his current situation. He didn't know where to go from here. He was lost.

He stayed where he was and heard the multiple sounds of footsteps of people walking by. He could also hear their hearts. Those strong, small organs in a size of a closed fist was pumping the blood he knew since birth. He knew blood had two different kinds of color. Light red when it's carrying oxygen and a darker red when it doesn't. He knew there are four different types of blood and everything else you could possibly know about it. He was the monster for blood.

He hugged his legs tighter and before he knew it, he fell asleep. Usually when he would close his eyes, he would enter a dark world and wake up later with no recollection of it, but today was different. When he closed his eyes he was taken to a new magical place. This was his first time dreaming, like a normal human. He found himself lost in a tall grass field. It wasn't someplace he had been before, but he found it familiar. The dream he was in felt so real. It took his breath away.

The boy stirred in his sleep as he saw the friendly blond man before him in his dreams. Why would he dream about Giotto? He wasn't somebody special to him. He was the first human he met when he made his escape but that wouldn't be label as something as special. The boy, in his dream, reached out for Giotto and took his hand. When their hands grabbed hold of one another, the grass around them melted into water.

The water moved and rocked like waves and the two were lost under the sea. It was amazing as how they could breathe under it. The boy caught a glimpse of the sunlight reaching down and glittering over their smiling face. He couldn't believe it. He was smiling. Smiling was a sign of happiness. Happiness was an emotion; a human emotion and nothing bad was happening to him. Was it okay for him to feel human emotions?

Giotto pulled the boy's hand and trapped him in a hug. Unknown to the boy, he just stood there, held under such arms. Even in dreams he had no idea of such lovable things like hugs and smiles. As soon as it was getting good, the dream began to fade and the boy just slept. He wanted it to come back so he could enjoy seeing himself act normal. Normal? Could he really use such a word?

The boy blinked his eyes open as he was brought back to reality.

The kittens weren't crying anymore and went to sleep starving. The boy crawled over to the box and closed it just in case it rains over night. He got up from the ground and noticed the white shirt he wore was dirty and black. He felt bad for getting it dirty but felt even worse because it belonged to Giotto. The boy shook his head as he knew he shouldn't think about humans like that. They were weaker and well, something he just shouldn't be thinking about.

It was night and there were tiny white lights in the darkness of the sky. He stared up at them; he had never seen stars before in his life. He reached out with his hand and smiled as he knew he could never reach something as pretty as those lights. The boy looked to the street and saw lights there. He walked out the alley and onto the sidewalk of the busy streets of Namimori. He continued to walk without any sense of direction.

Before he knew it, he walked into the summer festival that was happening in the center of the town. The festival Kyoko was talking about.

He never saw so many people before. There were so many lights and smells. He could immerse himself forever in such things. He walked around just watching people eating pink clouds on sticks and red and blue shaved ice. He saw people playing games and buying strange looking mask and putting them on. Girls and women were dressed in the traditional dresses and he couldn't help to smile to them. They were very pretty.

The boy stopped as one festival game caught his eye.

There was a tank filled with water and small orange fish swimming around in it. The boy turned his head slightly as he saw kids trying to fish them out with a paper wand. They were trying so hard to whisk the fish out but when the fish reached surface they would flop and break the paper wand. Some of the kids pouted and tried again while other just gave up and walked away to another game station.

Why did this one catch his eye? It was foolish. He thought that while walking towards the game. Why was it so interesting? It was stupid, but it looked like fun. He stood off to the side and watched the other kids try, but none of them succeeded. He had an urge to play but there were tiny things stopping him. Like the kids that wanted to play handed the man a shiny silver coin and in return, they would get the wand to play with. He had a feeling he won't be able to play without that coin.

He walked away and stopped in the middle of the crowd and looked to the sky. He could hardly see the stars here. His heart jumped in his chest as he saw and heard a helicopter passing over. Other people stopped and looked to it too. It swished the tree's leaves and wind chimes on the festival carts. He knew that helicopter, he knew the type. He looked over to the east in the direction where he escaped from the faculty and knew it came from that place. They were looking for him. They wanted him back. He could tell.

"Hey kid!"

The boy turned as he heard a familiar voice call to him and once in his life, he smiled happily.

* * *

><p>"<em>My name is Giotto. What's yours?"<em>

Cozart stirred as the voice of a teenage Giotto echoed in his head and woke him up.

"_Really? It's Cozart? Wow. That's cool. Huh? Oh, that's just G. He's my best friend. Just ignore the tattoo on his face. He's pretty soft when you get to know him." _

"_I'm not soft!" _

G's voice came next and Cozart slowly opened his eyes to the night sky. It took him a while to realize it was only a memory of his past. The stars looked perfect but had no shine to them because he saw them from inside his helmet. That's right. He forgot what he was doing. He was saving his friends, but these friends weren't the same like Giotto and G. Giotto and G were normal. They did normal things. When Cozart was with them, he felt normal.

"_I never saw you around here before. Are you new? No way! Really? Come on there's some place we have to show you!"_

"_Giotto, we can't be running off with strangers!" _

"_Cozart isn't a stranger. He's our friend now!"_

Cozart smiled from inside his helmet as he remembered that was the time he became friends with Giotto and G. He felt human after that. Living with Giotto and G was the best thing that ever happened to him. He felt free from then onwards. Giotto was open and free spirited. Giotto forced Cozart's heart open and showed Cozart his true self. G was somewhat like that, only with a quick temper and foul mouth. It was true. G had a bit of a soft side, but you can truly see it if you get to know him like Cozart did.

"Cozart! Cozart! Are you okay?" Dino shouted as he ran over to him. That was when pain and reality struck Cozart. It was time to fade back and endure the realization that they might not make it out of here alive. Could Cozart let that happen? He didn't want to die. He wanted to live with Giotto and G just a little bit longer. He wanted to be with them. Cozart stiffen in pain as Dino picked his head up.

"I'm…alive" Cozart replied as Dino helped him sit up. Cozart groaned in pain and quickly held up the side of his stomach. It was bleeding there. Horribly. At least he managed to destroy parts of the facility where the Altered were held in. Many escaped. Many wished to stay in their vaults. It was their choice to take freedom or stay behind and become even more of a weapon. Unfortunately, before Cozart even had the chance to free any more Altered children, Byakuran showed up and he wasn't too happy.

Cozart, with the help of Dino, took his helmet off. He felt like he couldn't breathe anymore with that thing on him. He looked down to his wound and moved his hand away. How was he going to explain this to Giotto and G? Shit. He better come up with an excuse quick. A motorcycle accident? He doesn't even ride one. Attacked by a bear? Like there are bears in Namimori, Japan.

"This is weird…" Dino said and Cozart looked back up. "It's like…he's fighting his younger self."

In a sense he was right.

Cozart watched as Daemon pulled out his scythe from his mist and the teenager before him turned his head slightly at the sight of it. Cozart himself didn't understand it. Daemon was fighting an Altered, but an Altered that looked just like him only younger. The boy with darker indigo hair drew up mist around him and a trident appeared in his hands. He pointed the sharpen end at Daemon and flashed a grin.

Cozart's eyes drifted further away and saw Byakuran just standing there, watching. He had a smile on his face with his hands in his pockets. He watched like he was watching a live soccer game. Cozart was slowly losing the thought that he was human. Cozart looked to Daemon who clashed weapons with his look alike. His mouth moved but was too far away to hear to him.

"Dino…it's time to go." Cozart said and Dino turned to him quickly.

"We can't leave without Daemon and Alaude!" He raised his voice.

"I'm not saying to leave without them. I'm saying get Freedom ready because we're _all _going to escape _right now!" _Cozart shouted. Dino nodded his head and helped Cozart to his feet. He was in so much pain. It was unbelievable but it was worth it. He knew Daemon won't be able to win this fight so it was best to run away with their tails in tack and keep in between in their legs. He couldn't wait to go home and see Giotto's face with a G somewhere in the picture as well. G isn't the type to smile so often.

"Oh shit…" Dino said and Cozart looked up to see another Altered blocking their way into the hanger. It wasn't because the kid was stopping them. It wasn't because the kid had a scary and chilling status about him. It was because he looked exactly like Alaude; only younger with black hair. Cozart from the corner of his eye could see how tense Dino turned. As if he saw death itself.

"Kyoya…" He mumbled under his breath and Cozart knew this was the kid they were talking about earlier.

They knew in a second if he was friendly.

He clearly wasn't.

The kid swished his arm in front of him and sent Cozart and Dino flying back. It was obvious he had the same power as Alaude. When Cozart hit the floor, the wind was knocked out of him. He gripped his wound and bit his tongue. Shit. That hurt more than anything else he felt before. Cozart opened his eyes and saw the kid standing over him. His heart jumped in chest as the kid's black dog tags jingled.

"You're a hypocrite..." Kyoya said as he stared down to Cozart with depressed eyes. Cozart was amazed by the fact that he spoke. How come X-27 doesn't speak? Maybe they didn't receive the same treatment. Cozart tried to move but couldn't. Shit. The teenager had a hold on him with his powers. Cozart struggled but it was impossible. He was going to die. Fuck. He wanted to see Giotto and G again.

"They don't care about you." Kyoya said as reached down and gripped Cozart's Dog tags. "Giotto and G wouldn't care for a hypocrite like you. You pretend you're human when you're more of a monster than me. _You failed science experiment_."

Cozart's heart twinge in pain. The kid was in his head and going through his memories. That's fucked up. He grinded his teeth as he was getting sick of being called a hypocrite. The kid turned the dog tag and read Cozart's number. He scoffed as it wasn't important to him. He pulled it 'til it broke and made a sharp noise. Kyoya tossed them away as they no longer served a purpose if their wearer will be dead in less than a minute.

"All liars and fibbers will be bitten to death." He said in a gloomy voice but before he even had the chance to do anything he was tackled by Dino. Cozart breathed a sigh relief as he closed his eyes and took in this moment of being alive. He looked to Dino who was over Kyoya and holding him down. He was trying desperately to reach out and free the kid that was inside Kyoya. The kid Dino knew and loved.

"Kyoya! Don't you remember me? It's me, Dino!" He shouted to the teenager under him who scowled at him. He was loud and annoying as Kyoya remembered.

"Yes, I do and…I don't care." Kyoya said as he used his telekinesis to pushed Dino off him and threw him over to where Cozart laid. He got up slowly and his black dog tags clanked and jingled. He looked to Dino and turned his head slightly.

"That is _not _my name…" He said sinisterly as he began to walk to Dino and Cozart.

"My name is X-18." He moved away some of his black bangs from his face and couldn't wait to kill them both. It was a craving, an itch that needed to be satisfied. He raised his hand and wanted to make them exploded from the inside out. He wanted to see their blood and organs color the floor but he sucked his teeth as he remembered what Dino's power was.

He hated it.

Dino had both hands raised and created a clear but visible force field around him and Cozart. It was strong enough to endure any kind weapon that struck at it, fired at it or even slice its surface. It was indescribable. It can even keep out other Altered's powers from reaching inside. That's why Kyoya powers didn't reach them. Dino sighed as he couldn't believe it worked.

"How annoying…" Kyoya said as he dropped his hands to his sides. He just stood there and knew sooner or later, Dino would have to stop.

Dino didn't want to believe it, but he had to. He remembered taking care of Kyoya since he was little. He was so cute then and fragile. Now, he looked like he could kill an army with just blinking an eye, but most of all he looked sad. As if he didn't want to live. Dino tried to reach out to him but that didn't seem to work. Nothing seemed to work but Dino didn't want to give up.

"Dino…let me take care of him." Cozart said as he tried to sit up.

"What do you mean by 'take care of him'? He's my friend!" Dino shouted as he never took his eyes off X-18.

"I'll keep him busy while you get in the hanger and start Freedom up." Cozart explained as he stiffly rose to his feet. He placed his hand on Dino's shoulder in a way to comfort him.

"What about Daemon and Alaude?" Dino asked.

"Daemon and I know what do to. Just get yourself and Alaude out of here." Cozart said and confused the hell out of Dino. Cozart sighed softly as he searched through his pocket. He forgot all about that.

"Here. Take him with you." Cozart said as he handed him a black card. It wasn't until then Dino realized what he meant. He understood Alaude was somewhere inside that card. The card Daemon once held for a time that was all too short and trusted it for Cozart to hold. Now, he gave it to Dino because he knew he wasn't getting out of this place.

"But…what if-" Dino started.

"Just do it!" Cozart shouted and Dino looked to Kyoya with worry. He looked back to Cozart one last time before he made a run for it. Fuck. He felt so useless running away. Cozart felt a chill run inside him as he wasn't being protected by Dino's shield anymore. He was out in the open. Ready for anything to hit him. He looked to X-18 as a barrier to his only path to Giotto and G. He wanted to see them so bad. They were the reason for living. He wasn't going to let a teenager get in his way to them.

"You're going to die. Right here. Right now." X-18 said with no hint of humanity in his voice.

"You just read my mind, didn't you?" Cozart said as he looked to the metal dog tags around X-18's neck. Perfect chance.

"Nice comeback. It won't save you either way." He scoffed as he raised his hand slowly but before he even had a chance to make a move, Cozart made his mark. The dog tags rose up by itself and pointed to Kyoya's neck. X-18 raised an eyebrow and couldn't believe how soft he was. If the positions were switched, Kyoya would have used the chain to struggled Cozart, not try and frighten him.

"Are you trying to scare me? Fear is not an emotion I'm allowed to feel." X-18 said as his thoughts turned deadly. Cozart had no idea of the series of unfortunate events occurring in X-18's head. There was just so many ways to kill Cozart. X-18 found it hard to pick just one. He grinned as he chose the one that was the most fun for himself and like a flip of a switch, it was over.

Cozart gasped as he felt all the air rush out of his lungs. Then pain arrived, taking hold of every muscle of his body, freezing him completely. He gripped his shirt and had no idea what was happening. Why did he agree to do this again? Oh. That's right, because Daemon and Alaude were his friends. He cared for them just like he cared for Giotto and G. Cozart coughed and coughed 'til blood spilled out of his mouth. It stained his shirt and neck leaving nothing but traces of the sticky residue. It would not end; the brutal coughs of blood. He fell to his knees and prayed for it to end, while X-18 watched his suffering.

The contentment of observing someone's death was enormous. It practically filled X-18 completely. He loved it. It was as if feeding it was a craving for chocolate or ice cream. X-18 found the pleasure of Cozart's nearing death was out of default. It wasn't a fight. It wasn't even a struggle. It was just a show of weakness and softness of a failed experiment. If X-18 would have known it would be this quick he would have done something else besides using his telekinesis to completely crush both Cozart's lungs.

"You see, I'm an updated and upgraded version of X-01-A. My range is twice his. My powers can reach places he _can't _see. Like your lungs. He can't see them, so his powers wouldn't be able to reach those. Unlike I; who just purposely crushed them like paper." X-18 scoffed as he saw the many emotions presented on Cozart's face. He walked over to him to see a better view of them.

Death. Pain. Fear. Regret. He saw them all flash in Cozart's eyes. He took comfort in that. He couldn't feel those emotions. He could never feel them and seeing it on somebody else's face was what kept him sane, in a sense. It was as if seeing what you couldn't have, but seeing them was enough to keep you happy. X-18 stood before Cozart and watched as he finally fell to floor in his own small puddle of blood. He smiled as he bended down to him.

"Don't feel bad. Giotto and G will never know of your poor, failed death."

Cozart balled his hands into fist and he couldn't believe the turn of events. Was this all he could do? He wanted to live! He wanted to see Giotto and G! He wanted to be with them! He wanted to grow old with them! He wanted to die with them! Have a family together! Why was this happening? Before he knew it, tiny small tears raced down his bloody cheeks. This wasn't fair…

"_You see that! That's the ocean! It's so pretty from up here on the lighthouse!" Giotto's voice echoed inside Cozart's head. _

"_The lighthouse is our secret hideout. DON'T tell ANYBODY!" G said after. _

_Giotto laughed. "We're friends, right Cozart?" Giotto asked as he took Cozart's hand and held it gently. _

"Forever…and ever…" Cozart said on his final breath.


	5. X05X

**Crying over Spilled Milk **

Giotto yawned loudly and wished for the warm pillows of his bed. He flipped through the channels of the television and knew nothing would catch his eyes at this late hour. He sat on the couch in the living room, trying his best to keep his eyes open. It was late in the night and he was tired, but he found it hard to fall asleep without knowing his friends were sleeping in their rooms. G went out earlier on date with some girl to the summer festival and Cozart left without even saying where he was going. So instead, Giotto stayed home alone and waited 'til his friends arrived home.

The whole evening and most of the night, Giotto spent it by watching Japanese cartoons and dramas. Every time he watched the drama, he swore he wanted to throw the remote at the television screen. He knew they dramatized everything. Love wasn't something at first sight. Love was never where everything was perfect and no, not every force on the earth was trying to separate the couple. It made no sense to Giotto, so every now and then he would change the channel back to the cartoons.  
>So why didn't he just continue to watch the cartoons? Why did he flip back to the romance drama? It was because he liked seeing romance since he knew he'll never find love, and just watching other people fall in love made him hope and believe he will. He felt like a teenage girl sighing and hugging a couch cushion to his chest when the couple where alone together. Little moments like that filled his stomach with hot fluff. He wanted to have that. He wanted to feel such feelings. He wanted to feel love.<p>

Giotto sighed deeply and sounded desperate for love. He needed to take his mind off it so he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. He was hoping for some sort of text message or missed call from his two best friends but clearly saw nothing. In fact, he had an expectation that G might have sent him a text message, bragging about the girl he was probably with. Giotto, not seeing that message made him anxious. G wasn't like that but either way, Giotto just shrugged his shoulders. G was probably busy actually enjoying the date with his girl. Giotto looked through the phone and started to play some games on it.

There was a kick at the front door and Giotto got up immediately. He had a feeling it would be G. He smiled when he opened the door and saw he was right but frowned horribly at the sight of the boy he found on the beach being carried in G's arms, bridal style. X-27's head lay beautifully on G's shoulders as if he was posing for a picture. Giotto looked G up and down questioningly who motioned with his head for Giotto to move out the way. X-27 was a bit heavy, even if he looked skinny like a skeleton. G couldn't speak and explain why he was in such a condition because he was holding a large clear bag that was filled with water and four tiny orange fish with his mouth.

"G…?" Giotto questioned, unable to break the icy chill that froze him where he stood. He was surprised to see the kid, let alone being carried by his best friend.

"mnofe out dae waay!" G spoke and struggled to keep the bag from slipping through his gritted teeth.

"Oh-s-sorry!"Giotto said as he opened the door and stepped aside. G walked in and blew out from his nose all the stress of this past evening. There was only one place to put him, so G carried X-27 to the couch. He gently placed him down before he took the bag out of his mouth. Never in his life did he have to carry someone home after a stood-up date.

"Here." G said solemnly as he handed the bag of fish to Giotto. Giotto smiled and took the bag of fish. He saw the four fish swimming around and couldn't help to think that they represented him and his friends. Cozart, G, himself, and now the kid. He was sure that since G brought him back, the kid was homeless. Giotto was more than happy to take him in, not like he hadn't done it before. X-27 was nice and quiet; he wouldn't take too much space or be a bother. He could be Giotto's little brother, in a sense. Giotto knew he would be the one to take responsibility for X-27. After all, he took care of his two best friends already.

G sucked his teeth as he knew his date was tiring. It wasn't even a date because she never even showed up. This never happened to him before. All girls liked his personality. Was it because he scared them off with his new tattoo on his face? It wasn't a bad choice like Giotto said. It was who G was, and if nobody liked the tattoo on his face then they clearly didn't like G. G was okay with that. He didn't like most people anyway.

"Why didn't you take him to his parents or his house? And if he doesn't have one, at least take him to the police station or something." G said almost out of breath as he dropped down on a comfortable chair aside from the couch where X-27 was dreaming of the tiny kittens. From his face, you can see he was enjoying such a dream. Dreaming was nice for him. He would probably be dreaming often. He didn't care if he was allowed to or not. He loved to dream.

"What could I've said? I found the kid unconscious on the beach in seaweed. I kept him for an hour then decided to let him go into the city before my best friend brought him back so I can take him to the police station? Then I'll have to tell them that I'm actually visiting this country! Can I make myself look any more like a pervert?" Giotto fought back.

"Please shout a little bit louder I think the kid doesn't mind!" G sarcastically replied as he got up from his chair and headed to the stairs. He wanted to go to bed. After a low blow of his date not showing up all he wanted to do was run home, but he found the kid and decided to treat him to some festival food. Together, they ended up playing some festival games. It was fun but a bit weird since X-27 never spoke. On the bus ride home the kid feel asleep on G's shoulder and from there on G had to carry him. G was extremely tired and wanted to sleep 'til tomorrow night.

"G you're never like this towards me! Hey! What's wrong?" Giotto said as he placed the bag of fish lightly on the couch and followed after G. Giotto quickly pulled G back by his arm. G sucked his teeth and looked back to his friend since childhood.

"Can you please? I'm tired. I wanna go to bed." G fought back as he forcefully pulled his arm free from Giotto's grip. He quickly run up the stairs to his room where he'll probably just lay in bed for the whole night thinking of all his faults because that's what happened when somebody rejects you. You sit alone and think about everything you have done wrong until you come up with a conclusion as to why you were rejected. Usually the conclusion was your fault when truly it was either the other person or both parties fault, but in G's case, it was the girl's fault for not showing up for the date.

Giotto stood at the bottom of stairs lost in denial. He looked to the floor and didn't understand what happened. Cozart was gone since this morning and now G's being evasive towards him. This wasn't good. Giotto didn't like being separated from his friends. He liked to stay close to them 'til the very end. Giotto looked back to the kid sleeping on the couch and a small smile formed. Well, at least he made another one.

He went upstairs to his room, grabbed the blanket off his sheets and went back downstairs. He placed it over the kid and saw him stir in his sleep. That small little twist in his spot made Giotto smile even bigger. He felt a small tickle of warmth run over him. Giotto reached over for the remote and shut the television off. It was time for bed but he didn't want to sleep unless Cozart was home.

With one hand Giotto reached for the bag of fish and with his other hand texted a message to Cozart to come home. When he was done texting, Giotto placed the phone in his pocket and entered the kitchen. Giotto felt as if he was the only guide for his friends, almost like their own mother. He would do everything for them. He would cook and clean. He would help them with their subjects when they needed it. Together, the three friends mostly had classes together so they were always on time only because of Giotto.

Giotto was rich. Well, his parents were rich and he just sorta took on that fortune when they died years ago of a brutal car crash. Giotto was the only heir and being ten years old, he didn't know entirely what to do with it, but he did take in some friends so he could never be alone. Giotto met G first on the streets of Italy and saw that he was homeless. They were friends instantly and Giotto allowed him into his home. Next came Cozart, who was abandoned by his parents. Cozart was all alone with nobody, but more importantly was lost. Once again, Giotto allowed Cozart into his house as they were great friends from their first encounter.

Since then, the three friends had never been separated.

Giotto frowned as he found a clear bowl to put the fish in. It wasn't a fish bowl but a mixing bowl. He shrugged his shoulders for he didn't care, because they both severed the same purpose. He filled the bowl halfway with water from the faucet and opened up the bag. The four fish slipped in and swam crazily into the new opened space.

Giotto opened his phone in hopes for a text message from Cozart but saw nothing. He sighed as his past played in his head. Those times were truly the most wonderful times of his childhood. Giotto headed upstairs to his bedroom and realized when he reached the top that he was tired. The second his head hit the pillows, he faded to sleep. He dreamed of the time he met Cozart in a grass field. It was a friendship that moved freely like the grass blades in the field. Giotto and G took Cozart to the lighthouse, their secret hideout sealing their unending pact. The lighthouse being the only wittiness to their eternal friendship.

Giotto loved it there, most of his memories as a kid were held in there. Those were the days where love didn't intrude into his heart. The times were he could enjoy the day without fearing of dying without ever feeling love. It was frustrating. He was twenty-four years old and didn't even know what love was and how it feels. Yes, he had relationships with girls before, but that wasn't love. He knew it wasn't love. And he wanted love.

Giotto awoke to a tiny pain in his chest. He felt hot and aching all over that eventually he had to sit up in bed. He felt absolute wrong. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. He gripped the middle of his shirt and for a moment he lost his breath. As if the air escaped him and left him cold from his fingers tips to his toes. The darkness of the room frightened him and forced him out of bed to turn the light on.  
>The coldness faded completely the second light was restored. The air returned to him and embraced him with heat. A giant warming wave of heat that rested his heart from its rapid beating. He realized the heat probably came from his open bedroom window. Summer lingered in the air and some nights were just as hot as it was during the day. That was the reason he told himself to calm his nerves. Giotto caught his breath as his eyes wondered the room 'til he saw his cell phone on his nightstand. He remembered receiving not a single text back from Cozart.<p>

Was he okay? Was he somewhere safe? Was he even home? Giotto doubted all that. He walked over to the nightstand carefully opened his cell phone. He felt time stood still when he saw nothing indicting life from Cozart.

Giotto didn't know what to do. He felt his heart rushing in a sudden fright because there were so many possibilities that could have happened to Cozart. He has been missing since yesterday morning. There was no reason to why he didn't check his phone for messages or missed calls. Giotto rapidly but softly, not trying to wake G, ran to Cozart's room. He opened up the door and saw the dark empty room that was not warmed and filled with Cozart's presence.

Giotto turned and ran out the room, and he was confronted by a shadowy figure at the door. Giotto jumped back out of fright to see X-27 just standing in the doorway with his head turned slightly. His lurid shadow entered deep into the room and swallowed Giotto's shadow. X-27 woke up to the rhythm of Giotto's heart pumping aggressively in the night. He originally thought Giotto was going to die and came to see the details. X-27 in the past, heard many hearts beat quickly in fear when they realized their end. It was only natural for X-27 to wake up and see for himself if Giotto was truly in need of help. Not like he wanted to help him live. Just maybe, he could watch a real life death outside the walls from where he was raised his whole life.

"_Merda!" _Giotto swore out loud in Italian. "You gave me a heart attack!"

X-27 smiled and giggled lightly as he found Giotto's reaction funny. Seconds after that smirk, he covered his mouth with both his hands and couldn't believe he laughed. Was he allowed to feel that too? Or was it too early? He wasn't sure. X-27 dropped his hands to his sides and knew what he was doing wasn't right. He shouldn't be living with the creatures he was meant to kill on sight. Living with them made him _feel_when he wasn't allowed to. It was utterly wrong for him to be laughing and smiling with them. X-27 shook his head and headed towards the stairs. He should leave when he still had the chance to save himself from the burden of human emotions.

"Hey-wait!" Giotto called out as he ran out into the hallway. X-27 was already making his way down the stairs when he turned back to the blond.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up. Here, let me stay with you until you fall asleep. That is, if you want me to…in case you can't fall asleep because you're afraid of the dark. If you're not, then that's okay, maybe you just need company to fall asleep, but most people fall asleep on their own alone in their room so in fact you don't need me…" Giotto stopped and finally listened to what he was saying. X-27 only frowned as he had no idea what Giotto was talking about. Giotto saw that expression and knew he was making this awkward, might as well just head back to bed.

"You know what…just forget what I said." Giotto said as he turned in the direction of his room. "I'm just making an idiot of myself," he mumbled to himself.

X-27 wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the painful expression on Giotto's face. He hated it and wanted to change it. There were probably many ways to make Giotto smile, but X-27 could only think of one idea. He looked to the ground and forced himself to fix what he caused. He wanted Giotto to smile like X-27 always saw. X-27 gulped back and knew he had to do it before Giotto left him alone in the middle of the stair case. X-27 gripped his shirt in the middle of his chest and braced himself for the worst. He knew he was a weapon. A weapon who should never talk. A weapon who should never show emotion of any kind, because he was nothing but a weapon.

"Tsu…" X-27 pleasantly whispered, the word slipping off his tongue.

_Giotto should never frown,_ X-27 thought as he gripped his shirt harder and opened his mouth wider. He forced himself until it felt like his throat was bleeding from the deepest reaches of its pit. Giotto should only smile because that suited him best and to make him smile, speaking for the first time would bring the blond with a loving beaming smile like he always had since X-27 was brought inside this house.  
>Giotto froze in place, but slowly turned back to the brunet. Did he really hear something come from him? Giotto's heart sped up back again, not in fear like he could easily tell before, but something different. Giotto could see X-27 was having a hard time trying to open his mouth and release sound. He broke free from his ice state and started to move. He took steps down the stairs and closer to X-27.<p>

"Say that again?" Giotto asked. Tsuna shivered at the sound of his voice before him. The pressure was condensing, but that didn't stop him from continuing. He wanted to see that smile again. He wanted to feel its radiance and glamour upon his skin and _feel_, like everybody else can. Even if he wasn't sure if he was meant to _feel_, but _feeling_human emotions was a gift. A desire which brought X-27 peace inside. He never felt peace. Peace was new, like dreaming.

"Tssssu…tsssuuuu…tsuuuu…nnna." X-27 struggled trying to regain balance because fear had a strong grip on him. The fear of being normal lingered inside his heart, but to overcome it he pushed with strength and confidence. He centered his breathing and looked up to Giotto's soft blue eyes. They were clear yet vivid with color as if their brightness would never burn out. They were hard and soft with a gentle touch when they were watching X-27. They were small but X-27 could look deeper in them and saw nothing but an empty space, like the blue sky. He could find a whole new world in those blue eyes, an escape from the malicious world he was meant to destroy.  
>What was he thinking? That thought, just now, what was that? Did the thought of Giotto's blue eyes really give him the strength and courage to say his own name for the first time in years? Who was this person in front of him? Why did he have such a strong influence over X-27's mind and soul? X-27 swallowed back hard and refocused on what was important. He released his shirt but placed his right hand over his heart. He tapped his chest gently and spoke for the first time after years of imprisonment.<p>

"…Tsuna…"

Tsuna hesitated and formed a stiff cracked smile on his face. The sweet relief of being able to talk was a tingling sensation over his ribs, almost tickling him and wanting to break off laughing. Giotto couldn't believe such a child. He was different, anyone would tell, but Giotto saw more than that. He felt that the difference in him can change something, may it be the feelings in Giotto's own heart or something great like the world, but he felt it. Giotto felt like this little boy could change anything because of that difference inside his little heart.  
>Giotto smiled sincerely from his warm endless heart and said, "Giotto…My name is Giotto."<p>

Tsuna broke off laughing. He couldn't believe it worked. He made Giotto smile. He didn't expect it to work and when it did, it filled him with such intense warmth that it tickled him all over, the reason for his loud laughter. Tsuna's laughter was noisy, but full of life and tenderness that it warmed Giotto to his core. Giotto stood there mystified and hearing such a laugh made a few chuckles escape him. He never met such a person like Tsuna. He was different from the others.

Tsuna's laughter died down and there was a short silence. Tsuna was busy looking through Giotto's eyes and trying to find the end of the captivating world hidden within them. Giotto was trapped by just the innocent and fragile presence of the boy before him. In that silence, they stood there examining the other. They were trying so hard to understand the other. Tsuna was a question to Giotto and Giotto was hard to figure out in Tsuna's eyes. Was this wrong? Was this right? Were there consequences for this? Was there a punishment if they both wanted to discover the other? Was it bad to explore and find the secret?

"Tsuna." X-27 repeated himself. He wanted those thoughts out of his head. Of course he couldn't find the answer to Giotto. Giotto was human. Tsuna wasn't. They weren't meant to live with one another. It just wasn't right. It would never be right, but Tsuna liked him. Giotto was warm like the sun and loving like the sky hugging the horizon. He offered such heat and affection to Tsuna who never felt such things before. Could he really stay away from Giotto forever? Could he stay away from such light?

"Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. Tsuna. " Tsuna said quickly forcing more of those thoughts out of his head. He shook his head furiously saying his name over and over again. He hated those thoughts. Those thoughts surged a cold and foreboding sensation throughout him.

"Hey! Okay!" Giotto stopped him by just a touch on Tsuna's shoulder. "Yes, I understand. You're Tsuna." He chuckled warmly as he found it too funny to understand.

Tsuna's eyes widen as he heard his name come straight from Giotto's mouth. Tsuna smiled slowly and blossomed like a flower. His stomach tickled as tiny sparkles of fire flashed over his skin. He felt so amazingly hot, especially on his shoulder where Giotto's hand rested on. He didn't know what to do but smile. It felt true and amazing like the sun shining down on everybody like a spotlight, but was it right? He didn't want the feelings to end. He liked it, just like he loved dreaming. Giotto felt it too, the tiny sparks or fire on his skin. He didn't know what to do, but instead followed his heart, followed what he thought was right.

"Can I ask you something? What are these?" Giotto asked as he pointed to the black chain that dangled around Tsuna's neck. Tsuna looked down to them then back to Giotto and only smiled. He knew he couldn't talk about the dog tags and the reason behind him. He might as well tell Giotto he was an evolved human with an unimaginable lurid power. Giotto really thought Tsuna would actually give him an answer but Tsuna, for some reason unknown to him wasn't up to talking in complete sentences.

"Okay…well, I was just wondering because that number on your tags is the same number that's on the back of your neck. I saw it on the day when I found you on the beach. I thought something really bad happen to you from your childhood. That's why I was against you going home. I thought…" Giotto explained and trailed off as his thoughts got the better of him. Tsuna jumped as he forgot about that brand on his neck. He was so young when he received it that he forgotten ever receiving it. He touched the back of his neck with his hand and felt the coarse smooth blisters of the brand. If he were to lose those dog tags he loved, he would always have that number on his body.  
>He would always be X-27, the uncontrollable Altered boy.<p>

Giotto caught the sad yet troubling look on Tsuna's face and everything he felt before faded to ice. He didn't like it, hell nobody would. He tried to reach out for him again like he did before but Tsuna quickly turned around and walked down the rest of the stairs. He wanted to get away, to escape such troubling feelings. He wanted to escape the sudden chill he felt. Giotto ran after him and Tsuna swiftly turned back to him at the bottom of the stairs.

"No!" Tsuna called out but Giotto didn't stop. Tsuna pointed to the top of the stairs and didn't say a word more. Giotto understood but this wasn't the time to listen. Last time he listened, he ended up being alone. He wasn't going to make the same choice again. Giotto climbed down the last few steps and Tsuna shook his head furiously. It wasn't right. It would never be right.

Tsuna's chest hurt with a pain he couldn't heal. What was wrong with him? He gripped his elbows and felt like losing to such emotions. He couldn't win a fight with feelings that had no shape or form. They were either chills or waves of heat that radiated within you. How can you fight against something like that? He looked to the floor and felt like crouching up in a ball and falling into such emotions. He wanted to give in just to rid himself of the feelings.

"I'm sorry, Tsuna!" Giotto called out. "I won't…ask any more!"

Giotto stepped off the last step and stood in front of Tsuna. He was inches away. He was so close that Tuna could hear it, his melodious heart beating in a soft calming rhythm. He was tall and vibrant with brightening colors. He had a sun yellow hair with light blue eyes that mirror those of the sky and last but not least the perfect peach tone of skin. Giotto was a walking star, giving off an endless light that could travel up to miles maybe even in light years. Tsuna tensed up and felt the hot sparks dance all over his skin again. It made his stomach tingle with playful pain, better than the pain in his chest which faded the second Giotto spoke his name. He fumbled in his spot and wanted to say something to him. Anything really, but said nothing.

"Um…well, I'm truly sorry." Giotto stared.

It stayed quiet for a good clean minute. A minute that made Giotto crawl with nervousness and crave for the safety of his room as an escape from such a torment. He swallowed hard in his dry throat and looked away from Tsuna's caramel eyes. They were always watching him. Not that it was strange, but it felt great. Nobody has ever had a curious eye for Giotto. It made him feel great.  
>"Well, it's hard going back to bed when you're wide awake…" Giotto walked away from Tsuna and headed into the kitchen. The perfect gateway from Tsuna's eyes and the thought just now. Tsuna remained where he was and gripped his shirt in front of where his heart lied. He felt such a weird pain there not a moment again.<p>

His heart twisted and clenched in a pain he hated. He didn't like pain. It was an awful feeling. The warmth of Giotto being close to him was all over him and Tsuna released his shirt. Tsuna looked to the kitchen door and heard faint clanging of pans. He looked to his feet and was deciding if he should follow after him. Tsuna couldn't make up his mind. He was stuck in the middle of his own feelings.

"Tsuna, come here!" Giotto called out and Tsuna forgot everything and went into the kitchen. Tsuna entered and saw Giotto over by the stove. There was a small pot under a blue flame and Tsuna turned his heart slightly to the side trying to understand what he saw. He had no idea fire could come from there. He saw from the corner of his eyes a bowl of orange fish he caught earlier that night with G. He jumped up and ran over to it.

Giotto watched with a smile in his face. "I knew you remembered them."

Tsuna tapped the glass with his finger and the fish swam away crazily. Tsuna laughed softly and Giotto didn't understand him. Tsuna was fourteen, or he looked like it, but he acted like a baby who was brought into this world yesterday. He was curious and childlike. It gave him a more appealing appearance. Giotto looked away from Tsuna for a moment to check on the milk he was warming up.

It was a little midnight trick he learned from his mother when she was still around in his life. When Giotto was young, he would have nightmares of being left behind or alone by his parents. He would always wake up cold and out of breath. The first person who would come running to him was his mother. She would always kiss his forehead and stay with him in bed 'til he would fall asleep, but the event would reoccur in a few hours. It wasn't as if he was doing it on purpose. His nightmares wanted him to stay awake.

Giotto's mother then decided to warm up some milk and give it to him before bed. She was amazed at how such a simple trick would work a miracle. A single small glass of hot milk would make Giotto sleep throughout the whole night with wonderful dreams. It was like a secret potion. Giotto 'til this day still used this remedy when he couldn't sleep or, of course, another nightmare woke him up.

He couldn't remember the nightmare clearly from earlier but he knew it was about Cozart. He worried about him. He still wasn't home. It was almost three in the morning and there were no signs of life from Cozart. Giotto was a bit paranoid when it comes to his dreams and nightmares. When he was young he would have nightmare of being alone in nothing but darkness and truly he was left alone by his parents dying. Now, he was having nightmare about Cozart.

Giotto shook his head lightly as he found his chest tightening to the soft pain of his parent's death. He didn't want to think of those nightmares anymore. His imagination ran wild when he was alone. Giotto blinked back the water that filled his eyes and stirred the spoon in the milk. He would never forget the day they died. He would never forget the pain. He rubbed his reddened nose and knew he wasn't going to cry after almost ten years after his parent's death.

Giotto was brought back to live by Tsuna's soft touch on his arm. Giotto swiftly looked to him and saw such a disapproving look on his face. Tsuna never saw pain without an inflicted wound before was confusing, but seeing it come from the brightest person in his new world made everything else dark. Tsuna wanted to see him smile because Giotto was warm and wonderful when he smiled. Giotto faked a smile and shook Tsuna off his arm.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." He said as he opened up a cabinet door above the stove and took out a cinnamon bottle. He opened it up and shook it as grounded up cinnamon fell into the warm milk. Giotto added the cinnamon to make it sweeter than it already was. It was a little improvement he made to his mother remedy. Giotto stirred it around in the milk trying his best to play it off but Tsuna knew perfectly well.  
>"Not. Fine." Tsuna said never looking away from Giotto. Giotto turned to him and frowned. Tsuna could see right through him. He couldn't lie or fake it to him.<p>

Giotto chuckled and shook his head. He shouldn't bore Tsuna with his troubling past. "I'm fine. Here, the warm milk is ready. Wanna try some? I'm sure you'll fall asleep right after one cup."

Giotto changed the subject as he powered the flame off and poured the warm milk into two mugs he already had out. He handed one to Tsuna who took it curiously. It didn't look like the drink he remembered from before. The lemonade he drank from the kindness of Giotto's heart. Tsuna looked up to Giotto who was taking a small sip and Tsuna frowned.

He didn't understand such kindness. He didn't understand such things like a smile from such a person could combust little flashes of fire inside him. He was sure he never felt that with anyone. Nobody could ever erupt this kind of feeling inside him. Feelings? Tsuna watched closely as he took another sip of his milk.

Nobody ever made him feel human, with natural human feelings.

"Hey, Tsuna?" Giotto called out to him. Tsuna jumped and almost spilled his milk. Fear was filling him up. He never felt fear at such a high level before. He was literally shaken out of his socks. He was scared, frighten, at the thought of being human. He won't lie. He wanted to be human, that's why he escaped, right? He couldn't remember the truth anymore. It was all a blur.

"Tsuna, what's the matter?"

Giotto's voice was like a roaring crack of thunder in Tsuna's ears. The fear and noise was too much for him. The mug slip of his hands and shattered to the ground spilling the hot liquid. Tsuna felt that same ugly pain in his chest again but not only there but in his eyes. They were filling with water and he didn't know what to do. He stood gripping his shirt unable to hold back the sudden feeling of fear and sadness combined.

"Tsuna, hey that's okay!" Giotto said comforting as he bended down and started to pick up the broken pieces of porcelain. He could see Tsuna was on the verge of tears but didn't expect to fall on his knees and covers his face with his hands. What was wrong with him? It felt like his face was melting from such much heat. He didn't know what to do. He was lost in such feelings.

"Tsuna, that's not something to cry about." Giotto said cheerfully as place the pile of shattered porcelain to the side and moved closer to him. "You'll be okay. It was just a mug bought at some department-"

Giotto trailed off when Tsuna slowly raised his head up and saw the clear tears wetting his cheeks. Tsuna looked to his hands and felt the warm liquid slide down his fingers to his open palm. What was this? It was hot and wet like blood, but it wasn't. It was clear, like water. Tsuna touched his eyes and felt more that water at the edge of his eyes.

"What…what….is?" Tsuna showed his hands to Giotto and sounded desperate for an answer. Giotto only chuckled and surprisingly touched Tsuna's cheeks with his hands. He creased them and gently wiped away the forming tears on the edge of Tsuna's eyes with his thumb. It was magical; the feeling of being touched sincerely from someone you cared about. Tsuna gulped back as he felt Giotto leaned into and kissed his forehead.

"It's called crying." He whispered. "It happens when you're sad or really, really happy." Giotto said with his own voice breaking.

Tsuna touched Giotto's face like Giotto touched his and felt his hot warm tears running down his cheeks.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'M SO FREAKING SORRY MY FAITHFUL READERS! It took me a whole month to update! I have no way of apologizing! All I can say is thank you for those who stayed and reviewed paragraphs to me for every chapter (you know who you are!) All I can say is Thank you. **

**Thank you, again, thank you! **

Now, for a side note. I received messages and reviews saying my fandom was _A_ _LOT_ like Elfen Lied. At that time I was reading those messages and had no idea what they meant until someone explained it to me it was some sort of anime. I looked it up and watched it. I gasped at how similar it was to my fandom and gasped harder at other grossed scenes I probably could have never thought of. To be honest, I had no idea such an anime existed so you can't say I based it off that or "stole" parts of it and reworded it differently if I started writing this fandom before I even watched the first episode. Just pointing that out.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and reviewing faithful readers. I'll hurry and start the next chapter. I promise it won't take another month for an update! Orz


	6. X06X

**Where are you, My only? **

"Welcome young test subjects! Today is the chosen day! Today will be your last day as humans, for today you will become greater, stronger, and faster than ever before. I have selected you; a special group of a hundred-fifty test subjects out of thousands, maybe even millions of candidates. You are truly blessed by God Himself to be given such a destiny. You will endure pain, fear, insanity, and maybe even death. It is a small torment to ensure the safety of the human race."

"_Special? We were not special. We were forsaken."_

"Today begins the endless testing and surgeries you will all have to take. If you're a good boy or girl, I'll give you a nice lollipop as a reward. Please note not everyone will survive so it's best not to make any friends during the resting period. Save yourself the pain of emotions that sooner or later you'll all have to learn to forget."

"_Fuck you Byakuran, you sweet tooth freak. It's your fault…I'm here. Alone." _

"Side effects include: severe headaches, blurred vision, bloodshot eyes, severe nosebleeds, severe nausea, upset stomach, vomiting, vomiting of blood, internal bleeding, insanity, hallucinations, cancer, ulcers, tumors, strokes, development of untreatable diseases, infernality in both sexes, and…well, you understand the chances."

"_Vomiting of blood, I had that for three days straight. I thought I was going to die. Why didn't I die? Like the others? Why did I survive? What was my purpose?"_

"I congratulate you! In the past twenty-four hours, only thirty-five of the chosen survived. Testing starts again tomorrow at 7am. Good night and don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"_Why am I reliving my past? Why am I seeing this again? Where are you Daemon? Daemon? Are-are you there? Daemon…?" _

"My name is Daemon Spade, not Mr. Pineapple head, so don't go around saying that for everybody else to hear. You _clearly_ bring the stereotype of blonds being the stupidest hair color to life. They say not to make friends; they didn't say anything about enemies."

"_Daemon…you were such a wise ass back then." _

"I applauded you the final six! Out of the hundred-fifty choices, God has chosen you! Five males and a female. I would like to see how this ends. Anyway, tomorrow I will give you your new names. Bear them with pride as you six are the first humans to bear the gift of an Altered Power. I must regret to inform that you did, indeed, die. All six of you died on the operation table at different times. Do not be alarm! You standing here before me is proof of your survival."

"_I died? I forgot. How can I forget my own death? Did Daemon…? But, he's like me…then did he die too?" _

"Do not be alarmed! You standing here before me is proof of your survival. You died as humans on that operation table. You were _reborn _as an advanced human being, an Altered with Altered bodies, minds, and powers. You are an artificial Altered. You were created to save us, your makers, and your masters. You are no longer human. You no longer have hearts filled with human emotion. You cannot feel. You cannot fear, hate, cry, pray, love, and worship like humans. You are nothing but a weapon. A sword of God to save His children. Stand tall and break free from your chains of humanity. Spread your wings and take flight, my saviors!"

"_No longer humans with hearts filled with human emotion? How can I live with that if my heart beats wildly for him? It soars like a paper plane in the wind. It cries in pain when he's hurt and defeated. My hearts melts in warmth when he laughs. It clenches in a joyful pain when he beams a smile in my direction. How am I feeling love when my human heart died years ago? Love. I am in love. I said it. Love. Love. Love. Why can't I feel it again? Because I'm alone. Again."_

Alaude slowly opened his eyes and found himself trapped in nothingness, a dark and cold world of Daemon's cards. He was stuck here. Alone. Time was not present here, but it felt as if he was trapped in here for centuries. His mind and thoughts were distant echoes and it drove himself mad. Alaude stared into darkness as he heard a distant piano playing some sort of soft ballad. It had to be somewhere deep in his subconscious because he feels as though he heard it before.

"_Why am I here…?" _

Whatever Alaude thought, he could hear it being broadcast throughout this vast empty world. He sighed painfully as the piano was reaching its peak and will fade to silence before playing back up again. Alaude was losing his mind. Why couldn't he be somewhere white? The darkness made him feel dead. He wanted to feel alive.

"_Did I die? But why? Why am I here?" _

Alaude opened his eyes but there was nothing to see. He was lost in a world that was created to drive anyone to insanity; slowly he too was going down the path of insanity. It was silent for a good second and then the piano returned to its repetitive ballad. Why did he feel like he knew this tune? He never heard it while he was undergoing the change from a human to an Altered. Did he hear it as a child? He would remember something as soft and gentle as that ballad. Why didn't he remember?

Alaude shut his eyes tight as the memories of his distant past played again in his head. He couldn't stop them. They took over his mind and he was forced to relive them. It was a merciless escape from the insanity of the world around him. He took another deep breath as he saw the open courtyard of the faultily he hated with a passion in his head. The summer breeze came in and blew a young girl's indigo hair. He was remembering what he didn't want to remember.

"Tell me, why do you cling so close to Colonnello for? Does he not annoy you?" A teenage Alaude asked.

"What? Of course he does. He's the second youngest shrimp out of all six of us. I'm just looking out for him." She crossed her arms over his chest. She was the same age as Alaude but something about her short height and young bodice gave off the appearance she was younger. She had dark blue hair that fell perfectly over shoulders and rested on her chest. She had a red-brownish scar on the left side of her face, a reaction to the testing. It was better than the actual death.

"When I see you with him, you smile fully. Why?" Alaude looked to the orange-pink sunset that hung over the horizon. The colors blended magically without a single cloud in the sky, as if someone painted it on a canvas. The colors were soft and gentle, the kind of texture Alaude loved to feel. He loved soft and gentle arms that wrapped around him on the day he broke down in this same exact courtyard.

"I don't understand what you're asking me." She said turning to him. Alaude's blond hair danced over his eyes as a gust of wind past by. He couldn't get that annoying Daemon out of his head. It was just yesterday that pineapple idiot hugged him. Alaude closed his eyes for a second and turned to the girl sitting next to him at the stone bench.

"Are you happy with him, Lal Mirch? I mean, the moment you're together, alone with him. Are you happy?" Alaude asked looking back to the sun as it was being gradually swallowed by the horizon.

Lal blushed lightly and slam her hand down on the stone table. "Of course NOT! He makes no sense! He goes off rambling off, telling stories of the girls he meet while serving in the army. He never shuts up. He never picks up after himself and he-"

"I wasn't asking what he does." Alaude turned to Lal again and looked her in her crimson eyes. "I asked if he makes you happy."

"Hey what you guys doing? Oh! Watching the sunset together…that's cool." A younger blond said behind them as he took a seat in between the two. Lal sucked her teeth and looked away. Her heart was beating faster when he sat down because her shoulder was gently being brushed by the young teen. Alaude smiled softly as he turned away. He would rather watch the sun fall behind the blanket of the horizon.

"Colonnello isn't it time for your nap or something? Why are you such a bother?" Lal said blankly.

Colonnello flashed her a cunning smile and she fell under his charm. "Don't play like you don't want me here."

"Don't play like you're the hot shot." She shot back. She gave him a scowl and Colonnello could only laugh. She looked so cute when she was mad. Lal jumped up almost giving a gasp as a large black and white hawk landed down on the stone table, its claws making a loud scraping noise as it gripped the stone. The hawk spread her wings out and Alaude backed away only taking in her beauty. Colonnello laughed as he extended his open palm to the predator that lowered her head to the greeting. Colonnello, using the tips of his fingers petted the soft white part of the bird's head.

"Are you out of your mind? That thing could cut your fingers off in one swipe!" Lal shouted getting up and stepping away from the table.

Colonnello laughed softly as he dropped his hand and the hawk closed its white wings to her back. "Falco wouldn't do that. She loves me too much to even peck at my head."

Falco straighten up in a way to say _damn right I wouldn't _while looking directly at Lal.

"You're friends…with a hawk?" She said in a disgusted tone of voice that Falco made a loud cry that echoed off the walls of the courtyard. Colonnello only laughed as he got up from the stone table to meet Lal's eyes.

"What? Are you jealous there's another woman in my life?"

Alaude stifled a chuckle as he heard the sound of Lal's hand slapping across Colonnello's cheek.

_You were asking for it, Colonnello. Hahahhaha…_

Alaude started to laugh enjoying this forgotten memory. At that time, he didn't find it important, but now it was. Colonnello and Lal's relationship was important to him. He didn't know why but it was. Alaude sighed terribly as he returned back to the darkened world he was beginning to hate. He hated it so much because there was nothing but himself. He was all alone.

He would never forget how Colonnello died the next morning. He died from the testing, of course. He dropped to floor, like a feather being dropped from a dead hand. Who would have thought dying in just a second could look so painful. Lal cried. She cried hard. Alaude could only watch and so did the others. They all had the same thought burning like candle in their hearts. Would they have somebody cry over them as they lay dead in that person's arms? Alaude was the only one who didn't wish for that. He didn't like tears. It was only natural for him to not wish for somebody to cry over him when he died.

Alaude took another deep breath to center himself as another memory began to play. He felt a sharp playful pain in his chest. He smiled as he knew this feeling. A pain he would always feel when he was near Daemon. Being so close so somebody you hated, yet cared for was entirely confusing. Alaude gasped as a wave a heat suddenly embraced him. It was frightening but warming him to his core. He could only think of one person who can send him such heart.

"_Daemon…? Was that you?" _

Alaude was alone in the darkness of the night, alone in the courtyard with just his thoughts. The sun was gone and left nothing but a dark sky with fainted stars. A darkness that mirrored the color of Alaude's heart. Ever since the testing began, in order to endure these trials he had with Daemon, Alaude had been living up to the name of an Altered by keeping everything frozen inside. Yet all of that came out yesterday in tears on Daemon's shoulders. Why did Daemon see right through him and his lies? Why was it Daemon and not somebody else?

"Is this seat taken?"

Alaude looked behind him and saw Daemon standing there giving him another charming smile. The comfortable silver jumpsuits they both wore made them look like prison inmates, but who wouldn't call this prison? Alaude didn't answer and looked back in the direction he was staring at endlessly. He wanted Daemon to go away. Far away. Where not even his dark presence could reach Alaude's skin and send him cold sudden chills.

Daemon took the seat anyway and sat closely to his partner. He looked ahead at what Alaude was staring at and gave up, finding the sky boring. He looked to Alaude and smiled as he found that blank stare adorable. Alaude feeling eyes on him turned slightly to Daemon with the intention to not see those dark blue eyes. His eyes for some reason, he liked to lose himself in them.

"Is something wrong…?" Alaude asked, growing inpatient.

"Nope." Daemon was quick to answer.

Alaude shuffled in his spot and felt the air thicken as he breathed it in. Daemon's eyes were burning into the side of his face and Alaude felt like walking away, but he didn't. Alaude for some reason, actually liked it when it was just him and Daemon. They were together, alone in this suffocating courtyard. Daemon placed his elbow on the table and made a loud loving sigh as rested his head on his hand.

"What? What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" Alaude snapped as he couldn't take it any longer. He looked to Daemon with an angered expression on his face.

"I just wanted you to look at me. I wanted to see your perfect ocean blue eyes as you're staring into my vacant nightshade eyes. How two opposite can collide so beautifully together. By just the color of one's eyes can show so much of their soul." Daemon said softly, almost leaning into Alaude. Alaude was processing every word but was stuck on '_perfect ocean blue', _something wasn't right about that.

"How two opposite colors can reflect the feelings-"

"My eyes aren't blue." Alaude interrupted Daemon who backed away. He lost track at what he was going to say next.

Alaude sighed heavily and got up. "Children will always be children."

"Uh…" Daemon was speechless. All that planning and acting inside his head for hours were wasted.

"Also," Alaude said turning back to the pineapple hair idiot he was beginning to hate. "Your mind control-soul possession whatever it's called _doesn't _work on me. Nobody will ever have control over my mind and soul. Stop trying it on me, your partner. You are suppose to trust your partner yet-"

"Then what color is it?" Daemon shouted interrupting Alaude's train of thought. "To be honest, it looks blue, how can it not be blue?"

"Does that even matter?" Alaude raised his voice, his anger getting the better of him.

"It means everything!" Daemon got up from the table and rushed to Alaude as if rushing for the answer, but something stopped him half-way. An invisible force he couldn't seem to understand where it came from. It stopped him completely. He wanted to break from but the force was too strong to overcome.

"Y-you're… you're making no sense." Alaude said looking away. His power was acting as a wall to keep Daemon away. "F-from now on, s-s-stay away from me."

Alaude left without another word and wasn't sure why his heart was beating so hard in his chest. He would never know until the present day when Daemon was completely far away from him. He wouldn't understand the feeling until he sees Daemon constantly wounded in many occasions because he took everything to the end. Alaude would never understand that he was in love with Daemon until they shared first and last kiss.

"_Why? Why do I deserve this? Daemon, why don't you save me as you have done many times before? Where are you, my only? My other side. My annoyance. My everything. Please. I-I love you. I really do. I just don't have the strength to ever say it. Please. Come back. I need you. I'm dead without you, truly I am. Daemon, I love you. Please come for me…or I will die". _

Hot and tormented tears raced down Alaude's cheeks. He gripped his shirt where his heart lied and felt that would be the first to break. His cries and his wails echoed throughout the vacant world, as if being broadcast for all to hear. Would anyone save him? Would he ever see the sunlight? Was this truly the end? An end without Daemon, without light?

The ballad stopped in the middle of its tune before the sounds of the piano keys breaking. Never again, did it play.

* * *

><p>Daemon laughed loudly as blood spilled from his mouth. The laughter died away as he turned over on his side and coughed up more of his precious life blood. He won. That was all that matter to him. No. That wasn't it. Alaude escaped. That was what's important. Daemon felt his chest clenched in pain forcing the air out his lungs. He gasped for air throwing his back off the ground.<p>

"Where is he?" X-18 shouted above Daemon. "Where is X-69?"

Daemon couldn't breathe, let alone speak. He gasped loudly as his vision blurred to sight he only wanted to see. Alaude.

"You're testing my patience!" X-18 shouted as the metal walls around him broke and snapped like strings being pulled. He was furious. His partner was missing. His blood was all over the walls. X-18 was infuriated and wanted revenge. He looked down to Daemon and released his heavy grip on Daemon's lungs. Daemon coughed at the warming feeling of air returning in his lungs.

X-18 bent down and picked Daemon up by the dog tags around his neck. "I'm asking again, nicely. Where is X-69, my partner?"

Daemon smirked, almost breaking into an enjoyable laugh but the pain all over his body stopped him. He barely opened his eyes before a tiny trail of blood ran down the edge of his mouth. "You're…you're looking at him."

X-18 watched as dark blue mist snapped and fell to the ground like fallen stars. Daemon, as we know him was changing. His light blue faded to darker color and grew longer framing his face. He turned younger, to a teenager, or to be exact, he changed into X-69. Daemon took another long breath as the clothes he wore changed as well. The ripped tight jeans and black t-shit that blended well with the black dogs with the number X-69 printed on them were the clothes he wore.

"You see…the person you've been squeezing the living air out of is nobody but your adorable X-69." Daemon replied with an enjoyable snicker.

"Don't play with me, illusionist!" X-18 barked.

"What if I told you, I needed somebody to protect what is precious to me? What if I needed somebody stronger than I'll ever be? Maybe that somebody was your little partner. I saw it in his heart. The…the…" Daemon broke off coughing up blood and X-18 released Daemon. He didn't want Daemon's filthy blood on him. Daemon laid back on the suddenly cold ground and wish for warmth. _Alaude's warmth. _

"I saw the desire for freedom. He wanted to be free dog, not to become somebody's caged bird that is force to sing whenever its master feels like hearing a soft tune. Nobody does. I made a deal with him. We swapped bodies. I'll become the cage bird as long as he's able to keep the deal of protecting what's mine. That's all it was. That's all I wanted." Daemon said happily closing his eyes.

"How stupid! X-69 never wanted to leave here! This place! It's all we have! He has no idea of the outside world! Pretty much the person you sent to protect your precious whoever it may be, is a baby holding a shield. Human herbivores are not very bright. No wonder they are so _easy _to kill!" X-18 said without single show of movement and began to squeeze Daemon's lungs. His back jerked off the ground once again and he felt the pain of his lungs being crushed, not the pain of air leaving him.

"He…he! Wanted!" Daemon struggled to speak. X-18 stood over him and watched as death took part in life. He smiled down to him and thought who was laughing now? Not Daemon because he was going to die. How the thought brought shivers of excitement throughout his whole body. This feeling of high was better than any other tranquilizer they gave him to calm him down when he went too far. Too far? He felt like he didn't do enough.

Death was cold and painful without somebody holding onto you, crying over you. Like Lal did for Colonnello as Daemon remembered it. Daemon struggled harder to speak but his eyes drifted away from X-18 and onto the broken ceiling that showed the night sky. A night much like the night he confused Alaude's eye color. Ocean blue? How stupid, he thought. They were a dark violet. A beautiful dark violet. An unusual eye color for an unusual partner.

"He…wanted…to be…free…from…you…"

* * *

><p>Daemon whispered on his last breath that would forever always hunt X-18's mind, soul, and heart.<p>

"Step forward as your number-No! Your name is called. X-05-CL, please accept these dog tags as your only possession as an Altered."

Alaude stood in line watching. Lal Mirch stepped out of line as Byakuran, with the help of Sho-chan; the redhead scientist placed the silver chains around Lal's neck. Lal looked vacant and lost because she knew she took Colonnello's dog tags. Her body never developed a power, because it refused it. That was proven on her face. Colonnello died because his body wasn't strong enough to hold such a power, luckily he knew somebody who was. So, like the gentleman that he was, he gave it to Lal. She didn't know how he did but she knew it wasn't her.

"Next will be, X-04-D. My favorite when it came to putting on a show." Byakuran said as Lal stepped back and Daemon strode forward. Alaude looked away but pictured in his head as Byakuran placed the silver chain around Daemon's neck. Daemon faked a cunning smile and knew in his heart that one day, he will kill Byakuran. Daemon really hated him. He was the reason for the killing of millions of test subjects.

"The youngest of the Chosen Five, X-03-D, please step forward." Byakuran said childishly as Dino stepped forward for his dog tags.

"Ah, the rebellious one, X-02-C may you please step forward." Byakuran said as Cozart with his head hang low stepped forward. He never wanted those dog tags. It felt like a reward to becoming a killer with your own mind.

"Now, for my personal favorite. The strongest and smartest of the Chosen five, X-01-A!" Byakuran shouted for all to hear as Alaude proudly stepped forward.

"_How stupid I was. It was nothing but a cold silver chain." _

Suddenly, the black world Alaude was trapped in broke like glass. He opened his eyes and sat up quickly at the noise. He saw the light and was surprised by its warmth. He saw a piece of the darkness cracked and broken, unable to hold itself anymore. The dark piece fell and left pieces of itself all over the place. Alaude looked up to the whole in the darkness and saw white. A white light that shone in the middle of his chest.

_What? What is this…? _

Alaude got up on his feet and walked forward. When he reached the edge of the darkness, he touched it with just his fingertips. All around him, the darkness shattered and broke into millions of pieces when it touched the ground. What was left of the darkness was pure white. What Alaude exactly wanted. He smiled as he felt warmth and life touched him deep within his heart.

_Daemon? I know you're there. Stop playing with me! _

Alaude was tired on his feet and fell back into the whiteness of this new world. He smiled happily as tiny tears fell like jewels out of his eyes. The warmth of this light was too much for him. The joy was too much for his heart and it spilled from his eyes as tears. He had a feeling he was returning back to the real word where he belonged. A world where Daemon was in. A world without him wasn't a world worth living.

Alaude opened his eyes and found himself trapped under warm blankets. He saw a white colored ceiling and smiled upon seeing a beautiful color. A scent of flowers entered his lungs as Alaude took in a deeper whiff. He looked to his left and saw a vase full of wild flowers sitting on a table near the bed. He smiled happily as their petals looked soft and gentle to the touch. The type of texture that Alaude loved to feel. As he thought that, he felt something soft and warm holding his hand.

He sat up slowly in bed and to his surprise, saw Daemon sleeping right next to him, his hand tangled perfectly with Alaude's hand.


	7. X07X

**An Unexplainable Scent of Lavender **

"_G! Let's go star gazing tonight!" A teenaged Giotto flashed a paper in G's face when he was watching the latest soccer game. What could have been the chances of Giotto showing that paper at the moment one of the players were kicking a goal in the opposing team's net? G stood up, trying to see the glorious kick that would end the game, but it was too late. _

"_Noooo! Merda! Puta!" G shouted to the television as Giotto stood there like a dog being scold. _

"_Star gazing sounds fun. Can I see the paper?" Cozart asked standing behind Giotto. The blond jumped as he never saw Cozart when he ran into the room. He must have walked in silently and scared Giotto from behind. Cozart chuckled at Giotto's reaction and Giotto laughed nervously. He was getting use to the fact that it was no longer him and G anymore because Cozart joined in on this brotherhood. Giotto happily handed him the paper and Cozart looked at it curiously. _

"_It says you could probably see your sign in the stars tonight." Cozart said reading off the paper. _

"_Sign? What sign?" G asked waiting for the instant replay of the kick, which seemed to almost never come. _

"_Your astrological sign, of course!" Giotto said cheerfully. _

"_I don't know…mine…" G said sounding like a zombie as the replay was just about to show up. _

"_We can find out right now!" Giotto said and looked to Cozart. "Flip the paper over!" _

_Cozart obeyed and saw the twelve zodiac signs on the back of the paper. "Oh, okay so when is G's birthday?" _

_G held up his hand firmly in a way to keep his friends silent as the instant replay began. Giotto rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth. "It's February 14__th__, on Valentine's day. What are the chances of that?"_

"_Don't be mad because everybody celebrates the day of love on my birthday." G shot back. _

"_Shut up." Giotto pouted cutely as he flung a couch cushion at G's head. G laughed sarcastically as he swatted the cushion away before it even had a chance at hitting him. Giotto stuck his tongue out him and G went back to watching the television. _

_Cozart looked down at the paper searching for G's sign and smiled when he saw it. "He's an Aquarius." _

"_Really?" Giotto gasped as he moved closer to Cozart. He looked over Cozart's shoulder to see the paper for himself. _

"_See the dates." Cozart pointed to it and Giotto looked them over. _

"_He really is an Aquarius." Giotto said amazed. _

"_Big deal. It's just a sign. It's not like it's going to rule over my life." G said sitting back in the couch as the commercials showed up. _

"_Aquarius is represented by one of Zeus' lovers. It says he brought her to the heavens where she became a drink pourer. Whenever she spilled water it flooded the earth. Most Aquarians are clumsy but adore the affection of their lovers." Cozart read out loud the short paragraph describing G's sign._

"_Oh, I like how is says it in the plural form!" Giotto said teasingly._

"_You're jealous I can win any girl's heart in seconds and you can probably win a dog's heart with a dried up bone in a month." G shot back heartlessly. Giotto slump his shoulders down and Cozart tapped his back in a comforting matter. _

_Giotto shoulders rose back up as he told himself not be discourage by G's wimpy little comment. Giotto cleared his throat before speaking in a demanding tone. "The star gazing is tonight! Wear some warm clothes because it's going to be cold! If you get sick for not listening to me then that's your problem! I'm not going to take care of you like the millions times I did in the past!" _

Giotto woke up from the dream to the sound of his alarm clock going off. He blinked his eyes open and saw the ceiling of his bedroom. He looked to his clock and reached for the snooze button. He slowly sat up with a yawn escaping him. He rubbed his eyes and smiled as finally he had a good night filled with dreams instead of nightmares. He was glad he had that warm milk with Tsuna.

Tsuna?

Giotto jumped out of bed and ran out his room. It was hard putting Tsuna to sleep after that whole crying situation. Giotto stopped in the middle of the stairs as the memory of him kissing Tsuna's forehead played in his head. His mouth dropped open as a tiny blush painted his face. Why did he do that? It seemed right at that moment since his mother would do the same for him whenever he cried. But now, thinking it over it seems...awkward.

Giotto's stomach turned inside out as he walked down the stairs gloomily. Why was he so stupid to believe he could ever be so close to Tsuna like that? He only knew Tsuna since three days ago. Giotto sighed as he reached the bottom of the stairs and a lingering scent filled the area. Giotto straightened up when he saw an empty couch and a blanket tossed to the floor or in other words, no Tsuna. The scent of fried eggs and breakfast finally reached Giotto and he walked to the kitchen door.

"Are you ready, Tsuna?" G asked. Tsuna nodded his head and made a sound in agreement.

Giotto stood in the doorframe of the kitchen as he silently watched his best friend and current obsession bond together without him. G had his arms around Tsuna's tiny fragile arms as they both gripped the handle of a frying pan. They were close, their bodies hugging another. Giotto was jealous. He admitted it. There was no reason for them to be _that close _while making breakfast. Tsuna with the help of G, flipped the omelette in the air as it successfully landed back down on the frying pan for it to cook on the other side. Tsuna laughed as he couldn't believe that he did it. G laughed as well because he usually never gets the whole omelette in the pan.

"That's how you flip an omelette. Next time I'll show you how to miss because I know for a fact this luck of getting the omelette in the pan _won't _happen again." G said jokingly as he released Tsuna from his tight hug. Tsuna smiled and saw from the corner of his eye his close new friend. Tsuna turned on his heel and waved furiously to Giotto, who could only greet him with a fake smile. The jealously still stung him constantly like alcohol on a severe cut.

"Moring, sleeping beauty." G said cheerfully. "You're just in time for breakfast. Want some coffee?" G asked as he took the bag of grounded coffee grains out of the cabinet.

"Huh? Oh, um yeah." Giotto said unable to take his eyes off Tsuna who was busy watching the omelette cook. He didn't understand why this kid was constantly on his mind. What does it matter if Tsuna wants to be close with G or anybody else? Giotto looked to G who was busy pouring hot water into the mugs before looking back to Tsuna shortly after. His eyes couldn't stay away from him for too long of a time.

Tsuna's hair looked soft to the touch. It was fluffy but spiky as well. It was a dark brown that reminded Giotto of heated chocolate being melted and turned in a bowl to be made into candies later. Tsuna's eyes were focused hard on what was cooking in the pan, but the sun hitting his face from the kitchen window made it easy to see their hazel shine. Giotto looked away, his hands tightening into fists to keep himself from thinking of any more provocative thoughts of a fourteen year old boy.

"Geee!" Tsuna cried out grabbing the side of the redhead's shirt. Giotto's heart skipped a beat because in his eyes, it looked like Tsuna was holding onto G for comfort. The warmth from last night left Giotto completely chilled, because Tsuna never called him by his own name yet he calls G by his name. Once again, the jealously was chewing at Giotto's heart.

"Geeeeeeeee!" Tsuna cried out louder. He tugged tighter on G's shirt.

"I'm coming!" G said putting the last spoonful of sugar in his black coffee. He went over to the stove and shut the flame off. Tsuna watched curiously as G used a spatula to pick up the omelette and placed it on a nearby plate. Giotto couldn't watch anymore and silently left when both their backs were turned. He headed to his room where he would just sleep the rest of the day off. It was better than feeling this dark emotion in his heart. Giotto fell asleep instantly as his head hit the pillow and the dream of last night continued.

* * *

><p><em>"Look over there, you two! It's the summer triangle!" Cozart pointed at a constellation he loved to look at. He wanted to share such a wonderful thing with his two best friends.<em>

_"What's that?" G asked sitting up. He took out a cigarette box from his pocket and opened it up. He placed a cigarette stick in his mouth and looked up seeing nothing but a bunch of fainted stars._

_"An eternal friendship written in the sky. Their names are Deneb, Altair, and Vega." Cozart answered as he hugged his knees to his chest. The story of the summer triangle would always tickle his heart with a playful heat._

_"Ah! It's another Greek love story again." G sucked his teeth as he realized he left his lighter back at home. He dropped back down on the grass and closed his eyes. Just the feeling of the cigarette in-between his lips might be enough to kill the craving of nicotine._

_"No it's not! It's…just a friendship." Cozart answered. "A friendship that was vivid when they were alive. A friendship that clearly lasted after death since it's in the sky every night."_

_"That…sounds nice…" Giotto said sleepily. Cozart looked to him and couldn't help to smile. Giotto as well was lying down on the grass and drifting off to sleep. Cozart then looked to G who was just as tired as Giotto. Cozart sighed to himself and realized it was just after midnight and maybe staying out any longer they would all catch a cold. He looked up to the sky one last time to see the summer triangle. He wished a rather silly, almost obscure wish. He wished deeply in his heart that maybe, when he and his friends died, they would have their own constellation in the sky. He looked away from the sky and giggled. It was a very silly wish._

_Cozart looked to Giotto and smiled again. "Giotto, wake up before you get sick."_

_Surprisingly Giotto didn't even stir at the sound of Cozart's voice. Cozart frowned and moved closer to him. He placed his hand on Giotto's shoulder and shook him lightly. "Come on, Giotto. I'm not caring you and G home."_

_Frightened, Cozart backed away as a trail of black blood slid slimly down the edge of Giotto's mouth._

Imagine for a second how it must feel waking up to a dark foreboding fear inside your heart. Anyone would have screamed and he did. An almost wail for comfort and security. He tried to sit up during his frightful experience, but his wrists were chained down to keep him on the bed. He dropped back on the pillow and breathed in heavily as he looked around the place he was in. He gulped back as his eyes stopped to stare at a young girl sitting in a chair with a book on her lap. She was far away from the bed, almost in the corner of the room and it was clear that it was her job to watch him. He stayed silent as the girl dropped the book to floor in her escape to the metal door.

"No wait!" Cozart cried out but there was no use. The girl was gone.

Cozart sighed heavily and looked around the room one more time. It was pure metal, he could tell from the tiny hints of rust on the walls. There was no window to see the time of day, but he had a feeling it was morning or somewhere around that time. He looked to the metal chains around his wrists above his head and thought why they weren't breaking. He knew metal was the only object on the planet that bended to his will, but then how come wasn't it working now? He was sure he was thinking about breaking them. He was positive he was thinking about severing the walls around him to escape, so why wasn't it working?

"I'm telling you! He woke up!" A voice cried outside the room. Cozart shifted his eyes to the door that opened with a horrible creaking sound.

"He screamed and it almost killed my ears!" The same girl from earlier said as she entered the room behind a short boy. She was holding a bowl of water that was hard to carry because of her small height. The boy looked older than the girl who was cowering behind him, maybe even in his teens. His hair was a darker red than Cozart's. Cozart watched as the boy walked over to the dropped book and picked it up. He slowly ran his hand over the cover as if admiring the red velvet color before placing it on the chair.

"Well, I think ears can die." The girl pouted looking away from Cozart.

"Please!" Cozart cried out catching the attention of both his captors. "I need to return to my friends! They'll worry for me!"

Neither one of them answered. The boy walked over to the bed and looked Cozart up and down. Cozart watched him closely unable to read his face of any sign of humanity. His eyes were soft yet full of sorrow, as if they have seen every worst possible event in history. His hair was a messy crimson with eyes to match. He looked to the girl behind him and she walked over to the bed as well.

The boy raised his hands and started to roll the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. Cozart gulped as a memory of white clothed scientist doing the same thing before opening him up for a brutal operation flashed before his eyes. He struggled but the chains stopped him once more. He gritted his teeth as he screamed in his head for the chains to break, but like before his power did not obeyed.

"Please be calm." The tiny girl said as her black hair tied into two pony tails jingled a bit. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Then why you'd chain me up?" Cozart shouted back at her.

The girl hesitated as the boy remained stone like. "We're…we're afraid of you."

Those words froze Cozart from deep within his core. He never wanted to be feared, especially for the things he had done in the past. Cozart loosened as he looked away from the children before him. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what they will do with him. He has been through the worst. What could two little kids possibly do other than operate on him while conscious?

"What's-what's your name, mister?" The girl's voice asked.

Cozart looked to the girl who smiled wearily to him. "Cozart. Cozart Shimon." He replied returning her with his own smile.

"What a funny name!" The girl laughed almost dropping some water.

"Is your name any better?" Cozart released a chuckle.

"It's Maggie. It's short for Magalia." Maggie replied very proudly.

"Wow! That is better than mine. It's very pretty, just like your pony tails." Cozart smiled happily as Maggie blossom at such a complement. She twirled softly side to side as there was a tiny moment of silence. Maggie stopped and looked to Cozart once again.

"Hey, Cozart. Are you thirty? Would you like some water?" Maggie asked holding up the bowl for him to see the clear water.

"That would be wonderful, if you could spare some." Cozart said softly.

The boy took out a dry white rag from his back jeans pocket and turned to the bowl of water. He used both hands to dunk the rag into the water. He lifted it back up and twisted it for water to fall back into the bowl. He squeezed it just enough so it wasn't dripping excessive water when he brought it over Cozart's mouth. Cozart opened his mouth and the boy twisted the rag for more water to fall only into Cozart's mouth.

A tiny drop of water missed his mouth and slid down the edge of Cozart's chin. The boy wiped it away with the soft part of his thumb. That tiny act of kindness trapped Cozart in the boy's sadden eyes. What was this, in his chest? Was it pity? The boy eyes held such a coldness, such a sorrow that it could have broken anyone's heart yet his hand that was touching Cozart's face was warm and full of life. It was safe to say that Cozart was in the care of wonderful hands.

"And what's your name?" Cozart asked as the boy's eyes meet his. He remained quiet before looking away and dunking the rag into the water again.

"He doesn't have a name, just a number." Maggie answered. Maggie paused as she tried to remember it off the top of her head. "It's X-0000-X."

The boy hesitated as he took the rag out the water as if he hated the sound of it. In that moment, Cozart understood what the boy was and wasn't all that different from him. He could relate to hating such numbers. He opened his mouth as the boy brought the rag over and squeezed it once more, making sure all the water drops into Cozart's mouth. Cozart swallowed as his eyes never left the boy's face.

"I used to have numbers as a name once." Cozart said and once again he caught their attention. "My name used to be X-02-C. I wished I could show my dogs tags as proof but..." Cozart trailed off as his recalled his memory.

"Oh!" Maggie cried out and quickly placed the bowl on the floor. "I found this when we were carrying you!" Maggie searched throughout the pockets of her black dress and pulled out a broken chain with two silver dog tags at its end. "Now that I see the number, it's your number Cozart-sama."

She held it up for him see it and Cozart smiled slightly. "Yes, they're my tags."

"I'll give them to you when, um you can move around." Maggie said as she placed them back inside her pocket. Cozart didn't mind. He never liked them or wanted them.

"What do you mean by carry?" Cozart asked.

Maggie looked to the boy next to her who only nodded. She looked back to Cozart and said, "Well, it was Nii-chan's idea, but when you think about it was the only right thing to do. You saved us. We saved you."

"Save? When did I-" Cozart caught himself as he remembered when rescuing Alaude and Daemon; he broke the Altered facility holding bay. He gave them their long awaited freedom. His faced turn lively as he looked to the two little kids before him and thought this couldn't be it. There had to be more of them. He shifted a bit to be more comfortable and remembered his somewhat of a fight with X-18. He swore that he thought he died. How did they save him from that? How did they save him from death?

"Cozart-sama? Is something wrong?" Maggie asked.

"You don't have to call me that. Cozart is just fine." Cozart said looking back at them. "Can I ask something very funny? Didn't I die?" He asked and Maggie giggled.

"Well I thought you did, but Nii-chan helped you, didn't you Nii-chan?" Maggie said looking to up to the boy who only nodded slightly.

"Thank you. I'm entirely indebted to you." Cozart said sincerely to the boy who could only nod his head again while looking away. He reminded Cozart of X-27 for some obscure reason.

Maggie turned to her older brother and said demandingly. "Do we have to keep him chain up? Don't you see how nice he is! He obviously can't use his powers so what's the point of him being chained up for?"

Cozart watched as the boy only turned to her and remained quiet.

"So what if it's X-20's orders! She doesn't rule this family! You do!" Maggie stomped her foot.

The boy blinked and remained silent. Cozart was confused. He wasn't saying anything.

"Make a choice Nii-chan. Unchain him or you give him back his powers." Maggie said strongly placing her hands on her hips. Cozart wanted to butt in but wasn't sure if Maggie was fighting with the boy or with just herself. He obviously wasn't saying anything.

"Fine. I'll talk to Nee-chan myself!" Maggie said furiously as she turned on her bare feet and headed to the door.

"No Maggie! It's fine! I liked being chained!" Cozart shouted to her and both of them turned to him with judging eyes. Cozart looked away realizing what he said sounded a bit kinky. "Um, well, you-you know what I meant!" He said in a quieter voice.

Maggie looked forward and walked out the metal room. She was determined to make her new friend Cozart, as comfortable as possible. The red-head boy only sighed softly to himself as he picked up the bowl of water. He started to head out the room until he stopped to look at the book he was leaving behind on the chair. He told himself he'll come back for it later.

"You're leaving me too?" Cozart said teasingly and the boy only gave him a sideways glance before leaving. Cozart smiled happily as he looked to the metal ceiling. He wondered where he was. What could possibly be made entirely of metal? He wondered mostly about Giotto and G. He knew Giotto would be freaking out and texting him a million messages each passing minute. Cozart's heart clenched in happiness as he couldn't wait to see Giotto and G again. He swore he would never again return to this world he abandoned years ago, because now he realized Giotto and G are his world.

"No! Nee-chan! Don't be angry!" Maggie shouted as the door cranked open and crashed loudly against the wall. An older, much more sensual looking teenager entered the room. Cozart was frozen in fear as he saw a fierce angry expression on the girl's face when she quickly rushed towards him. He squirmed shutting his eyes tight as she raised her hand above her head.

Her whole arm, from her fingertips to her shoulder was completely hardened with a clear ice. Her black dog tags fell out of her shirt and landed into her tight cleavage. She had night black hair with hints of purple in it. It was long but she had it tied up in a high pony tail with two long curls framing the sides of her face. She looked like an adult. Anybody would have confused her being the age over her mid-twenties, yet her true age was only sixteen.

"No! Nee-chan! Don't hurt him!" Maggie called out as her older sister swiftly clashed her frozen arm down on the chains that tied Cozart to the bed. The sound of the metal breaking like glass made Maggie cover her ears and back away.

"Is this what you want?" The teenage girl shouted to Cozart, his eyes still closed. "Fine! Go out there! Return to wherever you came from! We can take care of ourselves!"

In one sweep movement she turned and headed out the door. Maggie dropped her hands and rushed to the side of the bed. She gripped the sheet and clearly saw Cozart was alright. She smiled and looked to the door that was slowly creaking close. She stuck her tongue out like the young toddler that she was. Cozart opened his eyes and sighed in relief.

"You okay?" Maggie asked? "Nee-chan wasn't mad at you. She was blowing off steam. She's gets mad at Nii-san who touches her boobies a lot."

"Wait! What?" Cozart asked as he sat up and swayed his wrists in circles, enjoying the feeling of freedom.

"Nothing!" Maggie said looking away. "My family is really weird. And loud." She said shrugging her shoulders as if she was use to it every day.

"Okay. Listen Maggie. Will you be alright?" Cozart asked as he took off the broken shackles from his wrist.

"Are-are you really leaving?" Maggie's voice softened in sorrow. She looked to Cozart and stared him in his red eyes.

"Maggie, I need to see my friends. They are worried for me well; one might already have the secret service looking for me." Cozart chuckled lightly as Giotto appeared in his head.

"But it's really dark outside! See your friends in the morning!" Maggie begged as her nails dig deeper in the sheets.

"Maggie, please." Cozart got up from the bed and Maggie rushed to hugs his legs.

"Please! Don't go! We need you! My family needs you! We'll die without you! You saved us! You saved us remember! You need to take care of us! Show us what it means to live! Please! Please! Oh please!" Maggie begged nearly crying. Cozart bit his tongue and looked to the ceiling. This wasn't fair. He looked down and petted softly the top of Maggie's head. He had a soft big heart that couldn't say no this soft cute girl. It was a curse really to have such a kind heart. That was why he helped Alaude and Daemon. Not because they were old friends, but because he was kind and felt like he had too.

"Okay, but I'm leaving in the morning. I promise I'll come back later, but I need to see my friends." Cozart said as he bent down on one knee to be on the same eye level as Maggie. He chuckled as he wiped away the tiny tears that formed on the edge of her eyes. "Come on now. Don't cry for that."

"It's just…you're…" Maggie looked away not wanting to say the word. Cozart was like a father she always wanted to have but she just met Cozart. It was too earlier to tell him, so she quickly made up a lie, but it wasn't necessarily a lie because it was also true about Cozart.

"I'm what?" Cozart asked with a smile forming on his lips.

"You're really nice… it's hard to let go."

* * *

><p><em>"He wanted to be free from you…"<em>

X-18 stood there in silence as the words slithered down his spin like a cold chill. He took a deep breath, taking in the heavy scent of death. His dark dog tags chimed against one another when he moved forward wanting to touch, but couldn't. The sound of silence and being alone was terrifying, but he couldn't show that and remained still like a statue. How was he to describe this sight? X-69 wasn't a friend. He wasn't an enemy. He wasn't a brother. He was X-18's partner and he was dead.

X-69's face looked cold and paled. A sight X-18 always said he wished to see but it was only a play on words. He never wanted him to die. X-69 was only annoyingly strong. A type of strength X-18 always wanted to reach, but couldn't. X-18's anger had a firm grip on him which led him where he is now, staring at X-69's body on the cold silver gurney with a black body bag swallowing him whole. The zipper was down to his neck to show his pale and dry blood stained face, but for some reason it wasn't enough.

X-18 wanted to see more, everything that belonged to X-69. The zipper of the body bag slowly dragged down as X-18 could not leave X-69 alone. The zipper stopped in the middle of his chest and X-18 using his powers searched for the dog tags that were a pair to his. X-69's dog tags began to rise out of the body bag and X-18 reached for them. He snapped it off and gripped them in his palm. He only meant to kill Daemon, not this precious person before him. He wanted to squeeze the living out of Daemon, not his partner. He wanted Daemon to die; never in his life did he ever want to see X-69 in pain.

_"But you did it yourself! You killed him! A murderer of your own kind!"_

There it was again. That voice inside X-18's mind that drove him mad. It was his own voice, but a voice against everything he found right. A voice that drove him insane to the point where it took over him completely. The voice was poisonous when sending its endless stream of horrid images that would only stop if X-18 listened to them. That was the reason why he killed Cozart with no remorse. Why he threw Dino away like a bag of potatoes. When deep in his heart, Dino was someone just as precious to him like X-69.

X-18 missed Dino's smiles. The way he laughed and warmed X-18's frozen heart. He was such a problem child, using his powers to keep Dino away because X-18 only wanted to be alone. Dino wasn't the type to be kept away. He forced himself into X-18's life and heart. He made X-18 feel normal. He would never admit it, but Dino was the only one who could make him feel truly alive. X-69 was a different story. Instead of making X-18 feel what he wanted to be normal like a human, X-69 made X-18 feel proud for what he was. An Altered, a weapon that was created to kill.

_"What do you think you're doing?"_ The voice broke his chain of loving memories.

"Mourning…" He answered to the voice inside his head.

_"You're not permitted to mourn! You're an Altered! You're inhuman!"_

X-18 remained silent and wasn't sure of what to do anymore. He wanted to keep X-69's dog tags but like the voice said; he wasn't allowed to mourn.

_"What you did was your own nature, but you killed your fellow kind! You murderer!"_

"It wasn't him…it was somebody else." X-18 answered back.

_"That does not matter! Who is this person in front of you! Who is dead before your eyes? Your partner! Your other half! Your other side! Your shield and sword as you were to him AND YOU KILLED HIM! You betrayed him! You are truly heartless! You are truly Altered!"_

"No! Shut up!" X-18 dropped the dog tags to the floor and gripped his head, trying to suffocate the voice "You do not understand! It wasn't him!"

_"You do not understand! In this world, every Altered has another half. A side for relaxation, an escape. You were X-69's escape and he was yours. Why do you think a sword has two sides? Because us Altered have two sides. You killed his body and when his soul, wherever it may be, wants return to its body, it cannot because the shell is broken. Because of you! You will become a broken sword, worthless as it is!"_

"You're worthless…" X-18 muttered as the voice began to take over. X-18 gave into his lies and felt relief as someone else took control. He chuckled evilly as the carving to kill began to burn inside him. He covered his face with both his hand and laughed into them. The horrid and lurid thoughts played inside his head. It was humorous to see the fear in a dying human's eyes, to see them whimper, cry, or maybe even pray. It was hilarious. Humans of every single kind young, old, male, and female were trapped inside the facility with him. He wanted to kill them all. He wanted their blood to drip down the walls. He wanted it to splatter in his face. He wanted the joy of killing.

_"This is you! Your nature! Embrace it!"_

X-18 smirked oddly as his hands fell to his sides and fell completely under the control of the boding voice inside him. He turned his head to the door which led the hallways of the building he grew up in. A place run by none other than humans, the creatures he was born to kill, to annihilate. There was no denying this right, his right. Like the voice said, it was his nature.

The doors parted open and Sho-chan, the scientist that was always by Byakuran's side entered the room. This time he was alone and was busy finding out who and how many Altered escape. It was his duty as head of the department of Altered study. He came by to check on X-69 to retrieve his dog tags because without those and the bar codes on them, he wouldn't be able to take him off the system. Sho-chan stopped where he was as he laid eyes on X-18. He wasn't expecting to see him here. He thought he hated X-69 so why would he be here? Sho-chan raised up his shoulders and adjusted his glasses.

"X-18, it's time for curfew. Please head back to the Altered holding bay. Your courtiers of the facility weren't destroyed by X-02-C's powers. Run along and catch some rest. Don't worry; another partner will be assigned to you in the morning. We just ask if you find somebody annoying, like X-69 was, DON'T kill them. Just…count to ten or something." Sho-chan said and again adjusted his thick black glasses.

"I didn't kill my other half." X-18 said eerily as turned to the young red head. The smirked remained on his face as his bangs fell over the side of his face. The satanic appearance returned once again and Sho-chan gulped back. X-18 chuckled quietly to himself as he began to walk over to him, the smile never losing its peculiar vibe.

"You think I killed him, my own half? Hmmmm, but why would I do that for? I bet you didn't think of that, now did you? Didn't Byakuran say God was getting tired of sending floods, fires, plagues, swarms of insects, and other horrible diseases because human are like cockroaches, they don't die. So God sent me, and my own kind to kill your kind. He's tired of answering man's will when they do little to serve him. Why do you thinkwe're here? To be study on? To make research papers out of? I'm here to KILL you! Don't ever think for a second you can tame us. Have you ever seen a pet lion or tiger before? Hmmmmmm? And you say I killed my partner…"

Sho-chan felt such a heavy pressure push down on his shoulders. He knew X-18 was trying to scare and was doing a good job at it, but he was too afraid to do or say anything. X-18 was entirely hard to predict on his next move. Sho-chan gulped hard as the teenager spoke with a dark and ominous tone. As if Death took over him and enhanced his vocals to make him sound like despair hung on every word. Sho-chan's glasses fell down the bridge of his nose as X-18 stood inches away from him, to scare him even more.

"It's time…for curfew." Sho-chan said again only in desperation to get away from him.

X-18 chuckled softly before breaking off in an enjoyable laugh. "You're so funny!"

X-18 smiled one last finally time before looking back at his dead partner. A sense of longing took over him as the dog tags ascended into the air and glided into X-18's open hand. He looked down to them as his thumb brushed over the marked numbers. He blinked back the certain dryness in his eyes before looking back to Sho-chan. He looked up to him and the smirk returned on his face.

"I believe you need this?" X-18 offered him up the broken black chain.

"Y-y-y-yes." He stuttered as his shaken hand took them off X-18 hand. X-18's smirk faded as he turned his head slightly to the side.

"Consider yourself lucky because I would have ripped your heart out of your chest the second you walked into this room. I didn't because 'Byakuran's favorite toy' is written on your forehead. Good night." X-18 snickered before turning away and allowing those words to chew at Sho-heart for the remainder of the night.

* * *

><p>"'Please princess! One kiss is all I need to become a real prince! This frog curse will be lifted by true love's first kiss!'" Cozart read at loud a child's bedtime story from Maggie's book. Maggie had her head resting on Cozart's shoulder while her eyes were slowly closing to the lulling sound of his voice. He was busy holding up the book and reading the story in a soft comforting voice as they sat on the bed closely together. Maggie's hands were gripping the side of Cozart's shirt making sure he'll never leave her.<p>

"'Just one kiss?' The princess asked. 'One kiss!' The frog prince said jumping up in the air. The pink princess picked him up and in one swift motion brought the frog to her lips. In seconds, white and yellow sparkles circled around them evoking the air with sweet and loving scents. The curse began to lift as the frog prince became none other than the charming handsome white prince." Cozart finished as he flipped the page and looked down to Maggie.

She was finally asleep and Cozart closed the book. He laid the book on his lap and picked Maggie up gently. He only lifted her to free his numb shoulder and place her down on the pillow. He smiled down to her and never saw an angel sleep peacefully before. He moved away her hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. He then realized maybe being here and helping her and her older brother wouldn't be a bad idea. He felt connected to them. He wanted to help.

Cozart looked away and his eyes held onto the boyish figure standing in the doorway. Cozart smirked cutely as he was caught in the action of a moving Maggie. The boy with dark red hair only looked to the metal floor to hide his tiny smile. Cozart's smile had such warmth that it even filled the boy from across the distance. He couldn't handle it and looked to the floor, but that didn't stop him to look back up again. Cozart carefully got up from the bed, trying not to wake Maggie and walked over to X-0000-X. He took the book with him and handed it to the Maggie's older brother.

"She finally went to sleep." Cozart said in a whisper as the boy took the book from him. Cozart watched with curiosity as the boy sympathetically ran his hand over the cover and looked at it with caring eyes. Cozart's skin tickled with a heat as the boy looked up to him and caught him staring at him. The boy blinked and turned his head to the side unable to understand Cozart's actions.

"Um, well, I don't want to be a third wheel so I'll just-"

Cozart stopped abruptly as the boy swiftly, almost at an inhuman speed touched the middle of his forehead with just the tip of his index finger. Cozart froze as his eyes couldn't leave the boy's. He felt a piece of him return when he never even noticed it was gone. His muscles and shoulders loosen to the point where he closed eyes and never in his twenty-four years of living felt peace within him.

_"Cozart Shimon…?"_

He opened his eyes and saw the kid's face closer to his only with the intention of seeing his condition. Cozart blushed to the color of his hair and backed away swiftly. He was going to yell, but realized Maggie was still sleeping behind him and stayed quiet. The boy backed away and released a tiny grin. He covered his mouth with his hand and muffled a giggle.

_"You are very funny, Cozart Shimon."_

A young melodious voice echoed inside Cozart's head and his heart pumped harder in his chest. He straightened himself and pretended as if the voice had no affect over him. The boy lowered his hand from his mouth and smiled once again. Cozart, finally understating that this whole time the boy was communicating with Maggie earlier that night with just his mind. He looked to the corner of the room and could only think how stupid he was. He sighed and wanted to crawl away in the shadows of the room to hide his embarrassment.

_"You are not stupid, Cozart Shimon. You didn't know."_ The boy said tightening his grip on the binding of the book.

Cozart's eyes widen. _"You can hear my thoughts, can't you?"_ he thought.

_"Of course I can."_ The boy smiled to the ground hiding his tiny blush.

"Oh my goodness! That's so cool!" Cozart said raising his voice then covering his mouth with his hands. He looked behind him and saw Maggie stir in her sleep. The boy raised his head back up quickly as the blush grew darker on his face, never has he heard a compliment for his powers. It made his heart grew two sizes too large for his chest. He looked away from Cozart's gaze when it returned to him.

"You understand how cool that is right? You can read the other person's thoughts before they can even do it! You're always going to be one step ahead of that person!" Cozart said in a very loud whisper.

The boy kept his gaze to the ground. _"I can only hear the thoughts of those I have touched-Ah! No! Not like that!" _The boy held up his hands in a defending manner. _"Well, I mean those I have bonded with-No! That sounds even more wrong! More like I have befriended! That's the proper word!"_

Cozart chuckled softly and the boy could only watch such a smile warm his heart. "You're the one who's funny!" Cozart thought without a care to what he was thinking. The boy blushed once again and turned away. He couldn't handle the loud beating of his heart in his ears and wanted to run away. That was the best idea so far; he needed to get away from the cause of his emotions.

_"I'll show you the way out. I know you wish to return to your friends."_ X-0000-X turned away and walked out of the room and into the hallway. He wanted to get this over with. He wanted to be alone with just his family and maybe have the normal life they always wanted to have.

There was a slight ping of pain inside X-0000-X as he realized being normal meant having control. Control is what his whole family needed to learn. Without control, it was going to be tough to be normal. Cozart followed after him quickly and could sense something was wrong, but he didn't want to think about. X-0000-X could hear everything. Yes, he thought about leaving and now he takes it back because truthfully he doesn't want to leave. He wanted to help, if they needed it.

_"I don't want to leave yet."_ Cozart thought and knew the boy running before him would hear it.

_"Yes you do. You want to see Giotto and G again, your friends. You never want to leave them ever again because they are your world. You feel as though-"_

"Stay out of my memoires!" Cozart raised his voice. It grew stronger and firmer as it echoed throughout the metal hallways. The boy stopped and the sound of his dog tags hitting one another was enough to make his heart jump in his chest. His power would work without his command and sometimes he didn't like what he saw. He saw Cozart dying to the hands of X-18 and the words the Altered said were directly from Cozart's memories. Harsh words that still sting at Cozart's heart. X-000-X then understood why Cozart hated it when someone like himself went searching through those memories without his permission. It just wasn't right.

_"Sorry,"_ was the only word he could think as X-0000-X moved on forward.

"Hey, wait!" Cozart said rushing after X-0000-X. He thought his yelling may have ruined whatever friendship they had started. Unknown to Cozart, the boy heard that loud and clear. Friendship? What was that? His heart was fidgeting almost bursting its way out of his chest. Why did he felt this under contentment? Why? If he could have, he probably never wanted to leave. All of a sudden, more of Cozart's worrying thoughts entered in X-0000-X's head and he felt that his head was going to burst first before his heart.

_"AH! STOP IT!"_ X-0000-X shouted as he stopped before a turn of a corner.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Cozart asked taking one of X-0000-X's hands. For once in his life did he do something without thinking and followed what was right inside his heart.

X-0000-X quickly pulled his hand away, the warmth of another living being frightening him. _"I'm fine! You're…you're just thinking really hard. I should stop listening to them."_

"Wait! Don't do that!" Cozart called out and the boy listened as if expecting to hear more compliments about his powers. "I-I-I-I-I really like this." Cozart stuttered trying to get his feeling into words. He gulped back and felt like a nervous wreck. The boy's heart skipped a beat. He liked it? Everything changed in that moment.

"I really do! It's really nice. It's just I don't like it for you going through my past. It was hard enough for me, so I wouldn't want you to see that either." Cozart never spoke how he truly felt, but now it seemed like he could trust such a small, fragile person with his feelings.

_"I promise I'll never go looking though them ever again without your permission."_ X-0000-X looked away and stood there feeling so many emotions jump around in his chest. They were so many things he never felt before, but wasn't sure how to express them so he stayed stone like. He looked back to Cozart who smiled another warming smile.

_"Thank you."_ Cozart thought and X-0000-X finally blushed in front of him. A sight Cozart will always remember.

_"Um, well, uh, um, the way is that way!"_ X-0000-X ran away again and Cozart followed again only with a bigger smile on his face.

Who would've thought this whole time Cozart was deep within in the belly of a whaling ship? It was a rusted ship that was sitting on the docks far from the city, but close to the beach and ocean. Cozart smirked as he knew being close to the beach meant being closer to home, closer to Giotto and G. The smell of the sea and salt filled his lungs as a gentle cool breeze glided through his crimson hair. X-0000-X was a sight Cozart couldn't stop watching.

X-0000-X had a kick in his step when he walked over to the edge. He gripped the metal rail with his hand as he never saw a bruise colored sky with a tiny hint of sunrays beaming over the horizon. Cozart could only watch and listen to his heart beat playful harder in his chest. It was an amazing feeling, not to be alive and grateful for this second chance, but to see that smile on X-0000-X's face. What was wrong with him? Why did he like such a person?

_"It's so pretty! Don't you think so, Cozart Shimon?"_ X-0000-X asked as he turned to him.

"It's beautiful." Cozart replied his eyes staring at X-0000-X from across the distance. The redhead boy cheeks warmed as he smiled back to Cozart.

_"All you have to do is take that small ladder down onto the wooden pier and you just walk home."_ X-0000-X pointed to the rusted broken ladder but held his gaze on Cozart. "Thank you so much for taking care of Maggie."

"No problem." Cozart walked over to him and X-0000-X nervously looked away. He could feel eyes burning in his head and sensing the warmth of another body close, barely touching his. It made every muscle, every part of him clenched.

"X-0000-X," Cozart looked down him and the boy raised his head to him. Their red eyes locked with one another and nothing broke them away, not even the sound of seagulls passing by or the distant sound of waves reaching the beach. With their hearts beating in sync, Cozart spoke again and it matched perfectly with ambiance of the sea life around them.

"I'm going to take responsibility for you and your family. I'll help you with whatever it may be; if it's learning to cope with emotions or just trying to be normal. I want to help, truly I do." Cozart spoke honestly from his open heart and X-0000-X could only find it hard to believe.

_"Thank you, but I think we'll do just fine by ourselves."_ X-0000-X was sure he wanted to look away, but couldn't break from Cozart's caring eyes.

"Something must be wrong. Maggie was begging for my help earlier!" Cozart continued.

"_X-08-M is a child and worries if the sun will shine in the morning or not. She doesn't understand everything._"

"Then let me teach her that the sun does shine every morning and shines even brighter when it goes down in the evening." Cozart raised his voice and felt like reaching out for him to show how serious he was, but instead step back.

"_Please,_" X-0000-X broke away from the heavy gaze and if possible his thoughts sounded they were breaking."_Head home and return to your human life. Live and be happy with your friends._"

"I'm not happy knowing you'll be lost in a world without me." Cozart took a step forward and took X-0000-X's arm. His eyes widen, not for the fact he was being touched, but that tiny little thought put everything on hold. Cozart only wanted him to look back at him, just to see those red eyes shine only on him.

"Please, let me help you. Nobody helped me and I was lost for months, until those friends found me." Cozart wasn't sure if he was thinking anymore, but he was surely moving without any input or thought. X-0000-X felt his heart was going to come apart. Nobody he knew ever showed such compassion or worry for just a troubled teenage Altered. That was why he fought back tears; because he was taught to never cry.

"T-t-t-thank you…" X-0000-X said his first words after fourteen years of confinement and chains.

Cozart flashed a smile and his hand wrapped around the boy's arm soothingly as he saw the build of tears. X-0000-X smiled up to him and knew crying should never come when you're happy. Shouldn't it come when you were sad? But it was just the opposite of what he was feeling. Out of the blue, X-0000-X started to laugh. He realized why is he still following rules he never even liked so why he still following them?

"I'm being serious, that wasn't a joke." Cozart said, a few chuckles escaping him.

_"Cozart, you are truly funny. Again, thank you so much."_ X-0000-X smiled truly and happily from his heart.

"Oh, you don't have to-" Cozart stopped mid-sentence when he felt time stopped completely still when X-0000-X softly placed his hand on his chest. It was in the middle of chest, where his heart lies and X-0000-X closed his eyes. Cozart literally couldn't think because he had no idea what to do. Cozart's eyes widen as he felt his chest grew hot like fire and in that extreme heat felt something return.

_"I'm giving you what's yours. I know you don't want it, but I can't hold onto it forever. I'm sorry."_

The metal scraps and pieces on the floor started to rise and stopped mid air as well as X-0000-X's dog tags. Cozart smiled on the outside but truly was frowning as the power he hated was slowly filling him up. X-0000-X could sense such hatred and pain but there was no choice, keeping another Altered's powers that wasn't his won't hurt him, but it would kill the Altered he stole it from. It was the same as ripping out Cozart's heart, as if ripping a part of him.

_"Truly I am sorry. Please understand."_

X-0000-X eyes widen as every breath of air escaped him when Cozart grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. The metals pieces fell and clanked or broke, but not even those sounds penetrated the sound of their beating hearts. What was he to do? He didn't even know what this was. He felt Cozart's broad chest up against his own. He face covered by his shoulder, a scent of soft lavender hitting him but where could that possible come from? His hair? His clothes? Oh, but it was amazing! It was wonderful to be so close to such a person. X-0000-X even thought of being closer, but knew he couldn't, because he just met the person. Cozart's arms were tightly around him and he felt safe.

"I know we just met but I want to be close to you. You are special and I don't…want to lose someone like you. Oh what am I doing? It just felt right to do. Please don't think I'm sort of creeper. Please understand my feelings!" Cozart's thoughts continued to ramble on and X-0000-X could grow to hundred-fifty upon hearing them.

"I-I-I-I-I don't mind…" X-0000-X spoke softly up against Cozart's shoulder. He just met this person and he too never wanted to be apart from him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **For those who thought Cozart was dead. You mad? Muahahaha. Sorry. My moment to be a derp. Wait i'm not done. THIS CHAPTER IS OVER 9,000 WORDS! Okay, now I'm done.

I hope you guys are seeing the signs that the romance parts of the fandom are coming, because I CAN'T WAIT to fully bring them in. Dead Serious. I can't wait till I focus on that and instead this whole scary-Altered-stuff. It makes me feel cold for creating such a thing. Anyway, I would like to also put out that I have the most amazing friend/reviewer/editor on the planet. Her name is _Permasmile,_ and boy do I need to give her something more than just a thank you so I'm giving her some recognition.

_THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING PERMASMILE! YOU'RE AN AMAZING FRIEND! _


	8. X08X

**A/N: **_A year later and I update…_

* * *

><p>Tsuna sat on the couch while hugging his knees to his chest with his chin on his knees. The brunette was watching his favorite anime with Giotto, but couldn't wait for the blonde any longer and started watching it without him. The anime was about super heroes who used their super powers to help those in need. Tsuna couldn't believe how easy the super heroes' lives were depicted in the cartoon. Tsuna found it hard to believe that humans could easily accept those irregular people in their society. In the real world, Tsuna and his kind were punished and hidden from society. Instead of being publicly famous, Tsuna and his race are matured in military training facilities where they would grow to become weapons, the total opposite of heroes. Tsuna only watched the fictional cartoon because it was funny and was very cute as any cartoon should be. Tsuna watched cartoons and other shows because it was an escape from the ordeal of emotions he felt everyday by Giotto. It was a tiny, yet superficial escape but Tsuna needed something to feel less human. Emotions and sensations are a nuisance to endure and Tsuna wanted to feel them less and less. It was a pain the brunette didn't like to feel and choose to avoid feeling it if he could.<p>

"Tsuna, what are you watching?" Giotto asked from inside the kitchen.

"_Tiger and Bunny_." Tsuna replied in a deadpan type of voice that Giotto couldn't obviously hear from within the next room.

Giotto was busy making popcorn since it was Friday night and that meant anime night. The blonde watched the paper bag spun around inside the microwave slowly before going over the past few weeks in his head. G already found a different girl to chase which wasn't all that surprising. What was really surprising was Cozart and his new strange habits. The redhead spends the entire day sleeping and leaves in the night to devote his time with some unknown girl. It was strange because Giotto never expected Cozart to be one who spends so much of his time with a girl. Giotto only expects that from G. Giotto smiled down to the floor when his mind began to fade away from Cozart and came to Tsuna. The boy was slowly making his way inside of Giotto's heart much like G and Cozart had done. Giotto is becoming attached to the boy who had nothing but dog tags and a brand on the back of his neck. Tsuna was a question. Giotto loved the idea of taking care of Tsuna, but there were so many questions he had with no answers to. Giotto was curious, but was also kind. It was as if having the little brother he never had, but also having a stray wild creature.

When the bell to the microwave rang and the popcorn was done, Giotto poured the buttery snack into a bowl before walking into the living room. The blonde sat down on the couch next to the brunette before taking a small handful of popcorn for himself. He offered the bowl to Tsuna with a smile. Without looking away from the television screen, Tsuna reached for one popped kernel and placed it in his mouth. Giotto chuckled quietly since watching the fourteen year old eat one popped kernel at a time was cute.

"Who's those two?" Giotto looked to the screen when he tired from watching Tsuna. He passed the bowl to Tsuna again and from the corner of his eye he could see the brunette reaching for another popped kernel.

"Tiger-san and Bunny-chan," Tsuna answered before eating more popcorn. "They're partners."

"Oh, what are they doing?" Giotto continued to ask questions.

"Fighting." Tsuna replied and gave the bowl back to Giotto.

"Fighting who?" Giotto asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Lunatic." Tsuna answered, his eyes never leaving the television.

"Who's that?"

"Bad guy."

"Oh, I see." Giotto offered the bowl again and Tsuna shook his head. "You don't want anymore? You had like, four."

"Tsuna is thirsty. Can Tsuna have lemonade, like the day Tsuna first came here?" Tsuna asked and looked to Giotto only to receive a dazed stare from the blonde. Giotto couldn't believe he forgotten such an important day. Tsuna remembered it clearly, but he completely forgot about.

"Sure, just give me a minute." Giotto smiled before getting up. The thought of Tsuna never forgetting such a day made the blonde extremely happy.

"Tsuna wants to help." Tsuna said as he stood up.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Giotto waved it away and headed back into the kitchen.

Tsuna dropped back down on the couch upon hearing those words acting as a key and unlocking a hidden memory from within his past. Tsuna stared openly into the air when he began to remember the day when he made his first real friend. He remembers being wild and having nothing but the desire to murder and become the strongest weapon at the facility. He was only a toddler who fought to hear Byakuran's praise and to survive. That was once the meaning to Tsuna's life, to kill and survive. The day Tsuna formed a bond with another Altered and formed a partnership was the day Tsuna made a true friend. The teenager's face turned for the worst as he continued to remember that day. He lowered his head into his hands when he began to feel the worst feeling of all the human emotions. Sadness and regret were the worst because it took a long time to fade away.

"_Do you wanna play with somebody X-27? Hmmm~ Wanna play with X-59? As long as you play nice I don't mind the mess you make with him~" _Byakuran's voice gave the brunette chills. He sounded so friendly and warm, but the meaning was entirely different. His words meant to kill X-59 without even breaking a sweat. It was a test Tsuna couldn't afford to lose.

Tsuna will always hold in his heart the kindness X-59 showed him that day. It almost brought him to tears just remembering the fight. Tsuna had to learn the hard way that an Altered's partner had to be his equal. That is why Tsuna couldn't kill X-59 and learned that day to admit defeat. The two toddlers spent hours after hours trying to brutally murder the other, but in the end they both dropped to the ground bloody and torn from their never ending fight. At that time, Tsuna had no clue of the process of their fates being sealed together at that moment. The teenager bit his lower to stop the tears that were coming. It wasn't fair how he formed a friendship that only lasted a year. X-59 should be alive just like Tsuna was alive today. They were friends. Aren't friendships meant to last forever? Like _Tiger & Bunny _or was that a lie as well?

Tsuna was always alone in his secured chamber and was use to the solidarity feeling washing over him. It was a huge change for the brunette to talk to someone let alone even care for his wellbeing. There were too many changes that day for Tsuna to even understand why they were happening. Tsuna remembers tasting his own blood for the first time and hating the new and horrible taste. Tsuna thought he was going to die for the first time. He thought everything he worked for, every trial he survived went towards nothing. Tsuna thought he'll never reach the end and see the sunlight he yearned for. That was his dream once when he was as a child. His life's meaning was to kill, but he dreamed of seeing sunlight. Now as a teenager, that was different. He once had the desire to feel the sunlight warm his face and brightened his hair, but the longer he spent chained up like a wild animal the more it became a far off wish and later won't be achieved in the next seven years. It wasn't until he learned the value of true friendship and wanted that more than anything in the world. Currently, life's meaning meant enjoying a lukewarm friendship, but for right now, Tsuna had no dream. All he wanted was his friendship with Giotto, G, and Cozart. That was a dream in itself.

"_Hey…? Hey! Wake up!" _X-59's voice echoed in the recesses of Tsuna's head. The teen trembled on the couch as he continued to hear the strain of X-59's voice. Why is he remembering this now, of all times? X-59 is dead and gone. What was the point of remembering? Tsuna wanted to go back to where he came from, back to the facility. At the facility, there were still cold places on that island that held X-59's warmth. Tsuna gulped and could see X-59 crawling all the way to where his toddler self's lay. The young silverette grew tired and began to drag himself while leaving a trail of his blood on the floor. X-59 kept Tsuna alive with the sound of his voice and the touch of his hand for what? Why did he do that? Tsuna never had the chance to ask.

"_Hey…? Are you alive? I didn't mean to hurt you. I just have to, you know? Huh? No! You're not going to die! Don't worry! I'll take care of it! I'll take care of you! Leave it to me! I know a way to save us both!" _

Tsuna sat up from the sofa quickly for he couldn't handle the pain of regret any longer. He regrets living without X-59, his best friend and partner. He rushed to the stairs and escaped to his bedroom. There was a spare room that Giotto allowed him to sleep in instead of sleeping on the couch every night. The bed was much better than the sofa and Tsuna took the offer rather too quickly. Tsuna wanted to sleep the memories, feelings, and tears away. Tsuna liked sleeping and saw that as a cure for everything bad with him. He hid under the covers and shut his eyes tight to hold back his tears. He wanted to lock those memories up again. There was a reason why they were locked away.

Giotto was use to Tsuna's bizarre mood swings. He was use to Tsuna leaving everyone around him in order to be alone with his thoughts. It was okay, but it was wrong how he deals with such things alone. When will Tsuna ever learn that sometimes you can share those feeling with others, just so it doesn't hurt as much as when you're alone. Giotto saw the teen run up the stairs and only frowned at the sight. The blonde placed the second glass of lemonade down on the coffee table before taking a sip from his own. He sat down on the couch and watched the anime alone. The popcorn had a soggy texture when not sharing it with anybody else and wasn't worth eating anymore. The lemonade was sour and wasn't perfect as it was on the day he made it for Tsuna. Giotto sighed as he sank deeper into the couch. How was he going to teach Tsuna that having friends meant being open?

The sound of rushed footsteps coming down the stairs made Giotto believe it was Tsuna running down to hug him in search of comfort, but he knew too well that will never happen. He scoffed at his wild imagination and only brought his self-esteem down. He couldn't get the brunette to say his name much less get him to speak his feelings. Giotto stayed put on the sofa and watched Cozart run out the door like there was a fire in the house. Who was this girl that was driving Cozart wild? Cozart was probably late for a date and probably didn't want to disappoint her.

"Stupid…" Giotto mumbled as he leaned back on the couch and stared at the television. The blonde envied his two best friends. Their love lives are only getting better and Giotto's has even started! Why is he curse to grow old and never experience such a wonderful feeling? It's not like he's asking for a whole lot. He's just asking for a true and fruitful love. It's not like he wants to marry the person off and have kids. He just wants to experience it. Doesn't everybody in this world have the chance to experience a love before death? Isn't everybody's life story truly a love story? Where does his begin? Summer was only going to last two months. He was hoping to find someone. But truthfully, it's only been a week and he's given up. He should just enjoy the rest of the summer of vacation with his two best friends and Tsuna.

Giotto sunk deeper into the cushions when he thought of Tsuna. What will happen to the brunette when Giotto and his friends have to return to Italy? He simply can't take Tsuna with him. Tsuna may not have a family or someone to claim him here in Japan, but Giotto had no right to take Tsuna with him like some souvenir. Giotto also couldn't leave the poor teenager alone. He couldn't abandon him like he was some sort of unwanted house pet. Giotto stared at the ceiling and couldn't create a solution for this problem. He'll solve it later when he has to cross that bridge.

"Giotto…."

The blonde blinked upon hearing his name through sobs. There was only him and Tsuna in the house. Was that really Tsuna's voice just now? Giotto sat up quickly and much to his shock, he saw Tsuna crying his eyes out behind him. His eyes were red and chubby, but not to mention his nose as well. Giotto's mouth dropped open as he stammered, trying to understand what he was seeing. Was the brunette truly looking for his comfort?

"G-g-g-giotto!" Tsuna hiccupped loudly before holding out his hands to the blonde. Tsuna showed Giotto his wet fingers and snot stained wrists that he used to clean away his sadness.

"T-t-tears…so many…" Tsuna sobbed. "He-help me…"

Giotto sat up and walked over to Tsuna. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are crying? Tsuna?"

"Sad!" Tsuna cried out before rubbing the back of his hands to his eyes. "So sad! Tsuna so sad!"

"I can see that, Tsuna. Don't do that. You're only making it worst and making your eyes red." Giotto stopped Tsuna from rubbing his eyes and lowered the teen's hands back down to his sides. Giotto kept his own hands holding onto Tsuna's, not even realizing they were holding hands.

"I know crying and being sad doesn't feel…great." Giotto tried to reason with Tsuna. "But you know, explaining to someone why you're sad is much better than enduring it alone. Speak to me Tsuna. What's wrong? I want to help you."

Tsuna sniffled and looked up to the blonde. "Tsuna…..Tsuna…..Tsuna…" He trailed off. He sounded like a toddler whining sobbing loudly between his words. A very small curve on the corner of Giotto's bottom lip began to rise into a grin, but he managed to hide it. The brunette was too cute for words. Tsuna continued to cry while staring up at Giotto. He had no idea how to transmit his regret into words.

"Tsuna is what?" Giotto asked again.

Tsuna shook his head before dropping it against Giotto's chest. He gave up trying to speak and just wanted to cry again. Giotto blinked and didn't know what to say or even do at this point. Tsuna only lowered his head and Giotto's chest just happened to be the way. Were they that close to each other? Giotto recovered quickly when he felt Tsuna nuzzle into his chest in search of comfort and warmth. The blonde smiled warmly before releasing Tsuna's hands to wrap his arms around the teen in a warm embrace. Upon feeling the embrace grow tighter, Tsuna cried harder and gripped onto Giotto's shirt. He wishes he never has to lose this friendship as well. He wasn't it to last forever. Giotto hugged Tsuna tightly and did his very best to comfort the teen. The night wasn't what they planned, but it was better than watching late night anime.

* * *

><p>"<em>I found them."<em> Enma explained as he held up a box of kittens to Cozart. It wasn't the fact that the teen found the three starving kittens that bother Cozart or the fact he went on a journey into the city alone in the middle of the night. The fact that Enma didn't tell anybody and could have been discovered is what scared the redhead. Cozart always kept Byakuran in the back of his mind. Nobody knew what that albino was thinking or when he was going to act. Who knows when Byakuran will want his _weapons_ back. Cozart tried his best to be serious and even prepared himself to scold Enma, but the kittens. They were whimpering in hunger. They looked so lost without their mother. They looked so cute! The redhead looked away and sighed in defeat.

"_Are you mad at me, Cozart?" _Enma asked before lowering the box away from Cozart's face. He placed the box of kittens on the table and decided to feed them since they sounded hungry. There were pizza crusts inside the box, but Enma didn't understand why the kittens didn't eat them if they were hungry. The teen wasn't sure what he should give them instead, but he walked over to the fridge anyway and searched for food.

The fridge was stored with countless items of foods, snacks, and drinks. It was fit enough to feed maybe twelve families. Enma blinked and was surprise to see how quickly Cozart took on the role as the sole guardian to him and his family. The abandoned ship at the city's docks became home for Enma and his family. Nobody complained about it since it was much better than living in an enclosed room with chains and straps. Cozart was the only one who provided everything for these teenagers and Enma and his family were more than grateful for the food they eat, the clothes they wore, to the teachings of control for their powers. It was all of Cozart's doing and just him alone. Enma smiled silently at the warmth building in his chest and the thoughts of Cozart. Enma was new to the feeling of being cared for or even loved. He enjoyed the feeling instead of fearing it.

"I'm not mad. I'm just…not happy with you." Cozart answered. It took Cozart a while to realize Enma wasn't a telepath and wasn't reading his mind like he originally thought he did. Enma's Altered power was still unknown, but Cozart had a feeling that Enma's ability to communicate with him without speaking was definitely not the power of a telepath. Cozart sneaked a glance at Enma and smiled warmly at the sight of the teen smiling to himself. He looked so happy. All the pain he and his family must have felt while living in that facility that resembled hell always made Cozart sick to his stomach. He frowned and wished he could have saved them all sooner.

"_Then why do you look upset with me?" _Enma replied when he found a carton of milk. He closed the fridge and placed the milk on the table before looking into the kitchen's cabinets. The teen titled his head at an old rusty soup dish he found, but that's all he could find to pour the milk in. It was better than nothing.

"Enma, please!" Cozart intervened and took bowl away from Enma. He slammed it down on the counter and grabbed hold of Enma's shoulders. "I'm being serious! You shouldn't be alone! Ever! And you should never go into the city!"

"_Why? Is it because I'm different? I can't control myself in a human environment?" _Enma countered while glaring up at Cozart. Enma wasn't afraid of Cozart or his outburst. It made Enma seem inhuman to not be afraid. Enma was trained to never be afraid, but there is always something in this world that makes anyone scared. Cozart knew that very well. Anyone should be afraid of something if they were human. Enma wasn't scared, but he really didn't like how Cozart raised his voice to him and was squeezing his shoulders to get his point across. The warmth Enma had in his chest grew into a raging fire in seconds. The love he experienced had turned to hate.

"No! Because someone will find you! Maybe even Byakuran himself will find you and take you back to that place! I don't want that! Don't you understand?! I have to protect you and your family, but I can't do that if you're running away from my protection!" Cozart shouted.

"_This is your protection? A forgotten metal ship? You can't stop Byakuran-san. He wants to collect Altered for what reason, I do not know. All you can do is delay the time he'll find us. Whether that day is tomorrow or a year from now, Altered are fated to remain away human society. We are destined to remain enclosed. Humans are easy to kill. Altered are hard to understand. This world is not ready for us." _Enma explained while glancing away from Cozart's warm red eyes every now and then. He couldn't stand them while enduring the heat of hate in his heart. Cozart's eyes were making it hard to hate him.

"If that is true then why did you chose to be free when I literally broke the facility in half? If Altered are meant to stay locked up then why did you and your family chose freedom?" Cozart snapped.

"Look at the kitties!" Maggie shrieked as she rushed into the room when she saw one the kittens popping over the fold the box. Maggie's cry stopped the two from arguing and Cozart silently thank whatever powerful being for sending Maggie into the room. The tension was only becoming tighter between him and Enma. Cozart was only back tracking when he needed to become more forward. He wants to be on better terms with Enma because he wants to help him and his powers. He was only one that Cozart hasn't help yet.

"They're so cute! Enma Onii-san, where did you find them? They look so soft! Are you going to feed them? Can Maggie feed them too? Maggie wants to feed them! Look Adelheid Onee-san! Doesn't this kitty look a lot like Julie Onii-san?" Maggie rushed a million words per second as she picked up a black furry kitten and showed it to Adelheid.

"Magalia, put that creature down." Adelheid stood strong in the metal door frame. She was the oldest in Enma's family and had a mature body to go with that description. She glanced her cold red eyes around the room before stopping to glare at Cozart and Enma. Enma's and Cozart's heart jumped when they caught the stern glare. They knew exactly what point Adelheid was trying to get across. They were arguing and it had to stop because it wasn't like them to fight like that. Everybody knew that the two got along quite nicely.

"Why?!" Maggie whined at Adelheid. Adelheid snapped her attention back to the youngest in the family.

"The creature is gross and it is very late in the night. It is time for bed." Adelheid explained before folding her arms over her large breast.

Cozart smiled weakly to Maggie and had to agree with Adelheid. "She is right, Maggie. You really need your sleep. I don't want you tired when you're practicing your powers."

"That's different! Maggie can control it! Maggie tries hard! Besides! Cozart and everybody else stays up! Why can't Maggie?!" Maggie swiftly turned to Cozart and whined again. She cuddled the tiny kitten to her chest and nuzzled the top of its head.

"I stay up because this is the only time I can visit you and your family." Cozart explained as he walked over to the seven year old. He kneeled down in front of her and petted the kitten's head. Cozart was trying his best to reason with the stubborn toddler.

"I don't wanna go to bed, Cozart! Don't make me! I wanna feed the kitties! I wanna be with everybody else! I wanna be with you!" She croaked, sounding ready to cry.

"That is not Cozart's or your choice, Magalia. It is something that must be done." Adelheid explained while looking to Enma. He looked like he was there, but his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. Enma was concerned with Cozart's other life. Enma knew Cozart had some human friends whom he loved dearly, but he didn't understand why. Those humans, Giotto and G must be very special and must have done something very great in order to have Cozart in their dept. Enma felt like he robbed those humans of Cozart, but he knew he and his family needed him more. Was it selfish to think that?

"How about I make a deal with you?" Cozart grinned at Maggie. "If you promise to go to bed on time every night then you can have the kitties all to yourself! But that means to clean them, feed them, and watch them, Maggie."

"Really?!" Maggie jumped. "Can I really?!"

"Of course! I mean what I say!" Cozart nodded his head happily. Maggie giggled and wrapped an arm around Cozart's neck. She did her best to hug him while holding a kitten in her other arm. Cozart chuckled and loved the small tight hugs the little girl possessed. Enma blinked and was a bit confused as to what had happened. It zoned out through most of the talking and didn't understand the hugging. He seemed left out. He fidgeted where he stood and Adelheid stared knowingly at Enma.

"How annoying…" Adelheid mumbled while looking away from Enma. "Hurry Magalia. I have to put you to bed before I can make my security rounds."

"Listen to Big Breast Ice Queen, Maggie! Don't wanna disturb her rounds~" A fedora wearing boy passed by the room and snickered as he did. He tipped his hat when he knew Adelheid would follow after him.

"Julie! I dare you to repeat that!" Adelheid hissed. In seconds, her whole right arm became frozen solid of ice. "Repeat! Or I'll beat it out of you!" She demanded before following after him, the sound of her heels clacking away on the metal floors.

Cozart chuckled at Adelheid and Julie before looking back to Maggie. "Come. I'll put you to bed then."

"No! Maggie wants to go to bed on her own now! Maggie has her own kitties to take care of now!" Maggie walked away from a baffled Cozart before walking to the box. She placed her kitten inside and picked up the box of kittens.

"Maggie is going to bed now! Good night Cozart and Enma Onii-san!" She walked by Enma and kissed his cheek before doing the same to Cozart. Cozart frowned slightly and whispered a good night before looking to Enma.

"Should I put you to bed as well?" Cozart joked and Enma's face only turned serious.

"If you spend the whole night here with us then you must be tired when you are with your human friends. Why do you do that to yourself? Your humans are important to you, are they not?" Enma started the next argument.

"Listen, you know their names. You went into my head, didn't you? Giotto and G are they're names and they are _not _my humans. They are my friends." Cozart returned rather too quickly.

"I did no such thing. I'm not a telepath. I did not enter your mind." Enma snapped and felt falsely accused.

"Then how did you do it, Enma?!" Cozart raised his voice.

"With my powers!"

"No shit! Could have fooled me!" Cozart shouted.

Enma's hands turned into fists. "Are my powers that intriguing to you? That you would dare push me into hate and anger in order for me to use them _on you?! Just so you could see them! My powers are based on hate and anger! Do not tempt me!" _

"Maybe that's the plan!" Cozart took a step forward to Enma. "Why are you hiding your powers from me?! Can't you see I'm trying to help you! I know you can't control them!"

Enma quickly placed his hand on Cozart's chest for only a second and Cozart jumped back when Enma did so. It was easy to see the fright in Cozart's step, but he didn't even have the time to ask what Enma did and was on his knees. Cozart coughed horribly while gripping his shirt. It felt like his heart was torn right out from his chest. Enma frowned at the sight of Cozart suffering in pain at his feet. He never wanted this.

When the pain began to fade and Cozart regain his breath, he glared up at Enma. He was shocked that Enma would even try to hurt him. All Enma did was touch him. All that pain inside his chest with just a single touch. Did he do something? Or was it just fake? Something must have been inflicted, but Cozart was starting to feel fine.

"What the hell…did you do to me?" Cozart hissed.

Enma only blinked down at Cozart. Cozart narrowed his eyes at Enma.

"Not answering me now?" Cozart slowly rose up on his feet. "How dare you try to hurt me? I'm only trying to help you!"

Enma's red eyebrows only creased slightly, but eased later.

"What you don't believe me? You can't see it, can't you? How can I prove myself? I forget you're nothing but an Altered! You don't feel emotions! You're nothing but a soulless creature that romans this Earth! Tell me Enma, how I should help you further if you don't give me the goddamn chance!" Cozart shouted and the sound of metal bending echoed throughout the whole ship.

Enma only stared. Unfazed and unchanging.

Cozart's jaw clenched and he took a small moment to think of his next words to say. Enma only blinked and waited for what Cozart had to say next. Unclenching his jaw, Cozart made a choice and it hopes Enma learns from this lesson.

"Is this how you want to remain the rest of your life? Behaving just like the type of Altered you were trained to be? You want to be cold and inhuman like the fucking walls of this place!" Cozart swiftly turned away and left, the walls crumpling together like paper with each step he took. He only left ruffles in the walls and could not entirely destroy them like he pictured in his head. Cozart still had a heart and still cared.

Enma could only watch the redhead leave and blink when he was alone in the room. He gulped and placed a hand over his chest. His heart was beating wildly in pain and sadness, but Enma didn't know that. He just knew it was hurting. He was suffering from a pain that had no relief. He bit his bottom lip till he tasted his own blood. He touched his lip and realized his mistake.

Cozart was on the beach and far away from the ship, but that didn't stop him from yelling out in frustration to the crashing waves. He growled to himself and ran his hands through his hair, his nails dragging against his skull. He felt his dog tags in his pocket becoming hot like coals from the rising of his anger. He grinded his teeth together and didn't what his power to be influenced by his emotions. He was angry and he knew that he couldn't return home behaving like this. He sat down on the sand and blew out some air from his mouth. He needed to calm down before going back home to Giotto and G. He was such a hypocrite. Teaching teenagers control of their powers when he can't even control his own.

"Ahhh! That fucking dog! Jirou! Jirou! Come back!"

Cozart continued to stare out to sea and ignored the people yelling behind him. Sounded like someone was chasing after a dog…

"Don't run after at him! He's only going to run faster if you do! He likes to be chased!"

"Shut up, idiot! It's your fault he got off his collar! Fucking Jirou get your hairy ass back here! Arrgg!"

Cozart lowered his head into his hands and wished he was somewhere quiet to calm him anger. All the yelling was only adding oil to the flame to his heart.

* * *

><p>"Mu…ku…ro…" X-69 whispered his new name while staring at himself in the bathroom mirror. He raised his hands up above his head and watched himself from the mirror as he ran his hands through his light blue hair. He smiled when he felt the silky strands of hair pass between his fingers. He lowered his hands down the frame of his face then to his cheeks before pinching them. He chuckled quietly because it was fun being in another person's body, especial one that is larger and matured. His hands fell to his sides when he realized his eyes were different as well. They had a dark blue color with an odd diamond shape inside them. X-69 remembers his eyes clearly for they were anything but normal. One of his eyes is blue and the other is red. It a nice change to see two eyes with the same color, but he misses his own only because they were <em>his <em>own eyes.

X-69 looked down to his hands and wondered how he got in here. To be honest, he doesn't remember much. X-69 knows that this isn't his own body. His body is much younger and still has a long way to grow. X-69's memories are gone because Daemon purposely erased them, but that was completely unknown to X-69. In fact, X-69 doesn't remember anything from where he came from or remembers anybody. The teenage soul resting inside Daemon's body only knows of the kindness that's been shown to him by an Altered named Alaude. Alaude was the one who explained to him what it meant being an Altered, but X-69 could only understand that it meant being different. Alaude gave X-69 a name because it pained the blonde to stare at him and even try to call X-69 Daemon. It was Daemon on the outside, but on the inside there was only a complete stranger. When they met, Alaude heard a different voice from within strange thoughts and knew it wasn't his Daemon. Alaude couldn't pretend it was Daemon when there was somebody else inside. Mukuro became his name and Alaude felt like he was raising a man-child.

Mukuro became bored from staring at his face for too long and decided to explore this sensual body even more. Mukuro lifted up his black t-shirt and blinked at the sight of a carnal chest and stomach in the mirror. For a body that wasn't his, he felt proud to have it. Mukuro wanted to see more and took the shirt off completely before curving his shoulders back and seeing his muscles flex. The sound of silver dog tags hitting one another caught Mukuro's attention and he creased his eyebrows at them through the mirror. How did he not notice them before? They were dangling from his very neck. This body is so intriguing that it captured Mukuro's full attention. Mukuro looked down at the dog tags before holding them in his hands. There were numbers on them, but it didn't make sense to Mukuro. The numbers probably belong to the person whose body he took control of. He frowned at the silver tags before taking them off in a hurry and placing them down on the sink. He saw no reason to wear them if they identify somebody else.

Mukuro lost interest at staring at himself and quickly walked out of the bathroom shirtless. He wondered if Alaude was up yet since he always slept in. It was only two in the afternoon; he should be up at this time. Mukuro was lost at first in this new house, but found his way rather quickly. He crossed the hallway and into the bedroom where he knew Alaude always locked himself in. He stopped in the middle of the room when he caught a glimpse of himself in a body sized mirror. He was tall and skinny, but a man. Not a boy as he knows his soul is. His hair was short and it perfectly framed his face, but for some reason he didn't like it. He rather have his hair long and in his face for no particularly reason. Mukuro staggered a step forward when he saw an odd tattoo on his right shoulder. He turned himself in the mirror to get a better view of the small printed numbers that ran vertically down his shoulder. He frowned when he realized the numbers on his shoulder were exactly the same as the numbers on the dog tags.

"X-04-D…" Mukuro whispered before passing his fingers down those small black numbers.

Mukuro wondered why numbers that had no meaning to him was printed on his body and why he even wore them around his neck. He knew they weren't his and that this body wasn't his, but there must be a reason why. Who and why would keep such strange numbers on their body forever? He looked away from the mirror before his eyes stopped at Alaude's figure. Alaude was sleeping quietly underneath a thick warm blanket and Mukuro could only stare from the distance. His chest began to hurt severely, but Mukuro could stand there watching Alaude forever while enduring such a pain. He slowly walked over to the bed and stopped at its edge when he felt the pain spread across his whole body. The pain spread into a tingle in his fingertips, it twisted in his stomach, it compressed in his heart. It was weird, but it felt strangely good.

Alaude had his arm under his head while lying on a pillow and looked at peace. His spikey yellow hair wasn't in his face like always and Mukuro liked Alaude even more when he wasn't hiding behind his bangs. Mukuro liked seeing Alaude's face completely. It made him warm inside just from watching the blonde sleep. Mukuro kneeled down beside the bed and smiled sincerely when brushing the back of his hand against Alaude's cheek, his gentle attempt to wake Alaude.

"Alaude," Mukuro spoke softly. "Please, answer my question."

Alaude scrunched his closed eyes tighter when he heard the call of his name. Why is he curse to take care of a child in a man's body? And not just any other man's body, but the body of a man he loves. The sight of waking up to Daemon's smiling face made Alaude's heart clench tightly, but when reality hits Alaude after, the sensation dulls when he realizes it's only a child inside that body. Alaude is tortured every second when Mukuro is in his presence because all he saw was Daemon. He was looking straight up at him, but it wasn't him. It was Mukuro. It will always be Mukuro from now on. How unfair…

"What?" Alaude croaked coldly.

"Look here, please." Mukuro turned his body slightly and showed the numbers on his shoulder to Alaude. Alaude sat up and rested his back against the dashboard of the bed before narrowing his eyes at Mukuro. He didn't know how to explain it to him nicely. It was pretty obvious why and how he has those numbers. Any artificial created Altered has one, but Mukuro wasn't artificial created and doesn't remember anything from before. So it wasn't obvious to him. Alaude ran a hand through his hair and sighed softly.

"What is this?" Mukuro asked, referring to the numbers. "I don't understand."

"I don't know…" Alaude lied before looking away. He knew if he tried to explain it, all he would be doing was confusing the boy.

Mukuro frowned and expected Alaude to know everything. Alaude caught the frown from the corner of his eye and felt the sudden need to prove him that he did know. He scoffed at Mukuro before raising the short sleeve of his shirt above his shoulder and folded it there. Mukuro blinked curiously at Alaude's sudden rush of actions, but his eyes widen slightly when he saw numbers tattooed on Alaude's shoulder.

"We're not different, you and I." Alaude stated blankly.

Mukuro swiftly leaned in forward and reached for the collar of Alaude's shirt. Alaude jumped at the sudden attack; his heart racing from the close encounter, but understood when Mukuro only reached for his dog tags underneath his shirt. Mukuro read the numbers on the tags before checking them on Alaude's shoulder to see if they were the same.

"X-01-A…" Mukuro looked up to Alaude.

Alaude only raised an eyebrow. "Yes..?"

"Does that mean you have two names?" Mukuro asked.

"I believe so." Alaude answered. "One was given to me because I'm different and the other out of love."

Mukuro dropped the tags and pulled away. "Different? Love? What does that mean?"

"I already explain it to you. You're an Altered. You're different." Alaude rubbed his temple slowly, easily becoming annoyed. Alaude deliberately disregarded to answer the other question.

"Oh, I remember now." Mukuro nodded his head. "But what is-"

"Is Dino awake yet?" Alaude cut Mukuro off.

"Dino was awake since the sun came out." Mukuro answered with a slight chuckle in his voice. "What time do you think it is, Alaude? It is not morning."

Alaude scoffed while unfolding his sleeve. "Well, excuse me for being tired."

"Kufufufu~" Mukuro laughed and Alaude couldn't help to notice how similar his laugh was to Daemon. It was scary, but it was nice to hear it. He felt like the illusionist was still alive and that he lived through Mukuro. Alaude smiled sadly to himself and stared at Mukuro's face, enjoying the sight of seeing Daemon smile.

"Mukuro…" Alaude called and Mukuro placed his elbow on the bed before resting his chin on his hand. He grinned at Alaude and waited for him to continue. Alaude chuckled and shook his head at Mukuro, the difference between him and Daemon becoming very little. The stuck up and sassy attitude was beginning to show. How annoying.

"…Why are you shirtless?" Alaude's voice turned into a scolding tone and Mukuro flinched when he heard it.

"I was looking at myself in the mirror~" Mukuro answered before rising up. "Look! I'm very tall!"

"Go put a shirt on, idiot." Alaude said sternly as he began to push the blankets away and wanted to start his day.

"No! Alaude! Don't get up!" Mukuro held up his hands to prevent the blonde from getting up.

"Why?!" Alaude snapped. "I have things to do!"

"Just stay for a second! I'll be right back!" Mukuro urged before dashing out the room. Alaude deeply sighed and had no choice but to wait. It was probably something childish. He just hoped Mukuro came back wearing a shirt. Not that is was distracting because it was Daemon's body. Mukuro needed to show some respect for another person's body.

"Look, Alaude! Now we are even more similar!" Mukuro rushed back in the room and this time was wearing a shirt, but dangling around his neck were the dog tags he took off not too long ago. Alaude blinked and didn't understand at first. Mukuro chuckled before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The numbers on your shoulder are the same on your tags. The numbers on my shoulder are the same on my tags. We are the same. We are Altered together." Mukuro explained and Alaude's heart clench.

"…yes, we are the same." He nodded his head. "And…we are partners."

"Partners?" Mukuro questioned and Alaude painfully smile down at his hands.

"Yes." He answered. "Partners. We complete each other."

"Is that the reason why this body shakes?" Mukuro pushed closer to Alaude.

Alaude looked up. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It feels nice, but it hurts too." Mukuro looked away and stared at the corner of the room. "When I'm close to Alaude, this body begins to hurt. It feels funny, but you said we're partners. That explains why it hurts." Mukuro looked back to Alaude and saw a confused expression on the blonde's face. Mukuro frowned slightly and had no other way to make Alaude understand.

"Uhuh…" Alaude raised an eyebrow.

"Feel," Mukuro grabbed Alaude's wrist and placed his hand on his chest. Alaude blinked furiously in question, but his eyes widen when Mukuro leaned into him. Alaude's cheeks grew hot and red when he felt their foreheads touch. Mukuro closed his eyes when he felt the pain intensify in his chest and heart. The closer he was to the blonde, the stronger the pain grew. Mukuro rested his forehead against Alaude's and the telepath couldn't help but hear his thoughts.

"_My chest hurts and clenches tightly. It always hurts when we're this close. This body is very strange…" _

Alaude gulped and had to fight himself from hearing anymore.

"…Has it always been like this, Mukuro…?" Alaude asked; his own heart ready to collapse within his chest. Alaude could feel a heart beating hard against his hand and it made him smile softly to himself. Daemon's body behaved exactly the same as Alaude's whenever they were together. It was a heavenly sensation to know that Alaude's feelings for the illusionist were matched. It made the blonde more than happy, but sad as well. Alaude couldn't love just Daemon's body. He wanted to love Daemon as a whole.

"Since I woke up next to you, yes…" Mukuro replied in a whisper.

"…How cruel…" Alaude uttered to himself and gripped Mukuro's shirt. Mukuro opened his eyes and pulled away. He didn't understand Alaude's words. What was cruel?

"Is something wrong, Alaude?" Mukuro asked.

Alaude remained quiet as he lowered his head onto Mukuro's shoulder. Mukuro blinked and sat still when the blonde wrapped his arms around him. Mukuro's eyes widen when he experienced a hug for the first time in his life. Suddenly, the pain was all gone and everything inside him turned still and hot. Mukuro looked down to Alaude and wanted to shout to the rooftops in joy that the pain was cure with this strange close embrace, but he went speechless when he heard sobs escape from Alaude. Mukuro liked the hugging and copied Alaude's actions. He wrapped his arms around the blonde and Alaude nuzzled deeper into Daemon's chest. Mukuro closed his eyes and simmered in the heat of the embrace. There was so much he didn't understand, but he understood one thing. He liked Alaude.

* * *

><p>"This is the twentieth Altered he killed, Byakuran-sama! I think he is doing it on purpose! X-18 doesn't want another partner if he keeps killing every one we send in! We can't afford to lose any more Altered! We lost a bunch already from last week's breakout!" Shoichi complained as he took his thick glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. The ginger stayed up all night trying to bond X-18 with other Altered, but X-18 was only killing them all. X-18 would fight each one and they would only last in the room for an hour at the most before being brutally murder. Shoichi worked throughout most of last night, most of the day and couldn't endure it any longer. He loved his work. He really did, but he wasn't going anywhere with X-18.<p>

Byakuran swirled in Shoichi's desk chair and giggled at the feeling.

"Byakuran-sama!" Shoichi snapped at the albino.

"I heard you~ I heard you~" Byakuran stopped his spinning and pouted at Shoichi. "What does Sho-chan want me to do, huh?"

"I don't know…" Shoichi placed his glasses back on and looked back to the large flat screen in his laboratory. The video feed was a live recording of one of the Altered training rooms and X-18 was standing alone in one. He was waiting for the next Altered specimen to enter and fight him or her. Scattered around him on the floor and walls were the blood and bodies of the others he killed. X-18 looked bored, almost tired. Shoichi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance when he watched X-18 yawn loudly at the camera in the top corner of the room.

"You see! He doesn't want one! Why am I wasting my time and other Altered teenagers on him! It was a stroke of God that X-18 found a partner many years back, but X-69 is dead now! It is very easy for an Altered to find another partner once they already lost one, but why is it so difficult for X-18?! Not to mention I have a ton of experiments to run and reports to write! I still have to finish processing X-69's body before extinguish it and I have…"

"Sho-chan~ Oh Sho-chan~" Byakuran called in between the ginger's never ending speech.

"What is it Byakuran-sama?!" Shoichi snapped back to the albino once again.

"Come here~ Come here~" The director of the Altered facility waved his favorite scientist over.

"What for…?" Shoichi asked.

Byakuran raised a perfect white eyebrow at Shoichi. "I'm helping you, Sho-chan. Don't cha want my help?"

Shoichi dared to walk over to his desk and linger behind his boss' shoulder. "Please show me, Byakuran-sama."

"That's my loyal Sho-chan~" Byakuran spin in the chair to face the ginger and pat his cheek before spinning back and turning the computer on. Shoichi watched and didn't seem impressed. What good could Byakuran do if Shoichi has done everything he can?

"…huh, how do I get to the Altered data base? I'm looking up someone special for Sho-chan~" Byakuran cutely asked before looking up to Shoichi.

"I'll do it. You never use the computers here, don't you?" Shoichi leaned in and worked over the albino. Byakuran blinked at the close contact and titled his head when he saw the ginger type furiously on the keyboard.

"Why is Sho-chan so angry?!" Byakuran placed his hands over Shoichi's and caught the ginger off guard.

"Because I'm tired, Byakuran-sama…" Shoichi pulled his hands free. "There is the search engine. Who are you even looking up? I pretty much know most of the Altered stationed at his facility." Shoichi adjusted his glasses.

Byakuran blinked with a smile on his face when he saw a container of lollipops on Shoichi's desk. He reached forward and took one, blinking curiously when he saw a small little cut in it. It wasn't a whole lollipop! Byakuran pouted and groggily took the wrapping off. He wanted a whole lollipop…

"Byakuran-sama you are easily distracted…" Shoichi hissed.

"I am not! I choose not to answer your question, Sho-chan!" Byakuran placed the candy in his mouth and smiled brightly at the taste of strawberry. Byakuran leaned forward before typing into the computer. Shoichi sighed and watched the albino typed in an Altered I.D number, but a profile didn't show up.

"You're sure you have the correct number? I never saw that number before." Shoichi adjusted his glasses once more.

"Hmmm…" Byakuran pondered, passing the lollipop from cheek to cheek with his tongue.

"Is it even an Altered? There are two separate search engines for Altereds and humans who were genetically developed into Altered." Shoichi explained.

"Ohh! Now I remember! He is in my favorites!" Byakuran closed the search engine and opened up the home screen. He logged in and a bunch of unopened emails appeared on the screen.

"Hehehe~ Ignore them~ They're not from my secrete admire, Sho-chan~ Don't worry~" Byakuran snickered and Shoichi flustered on the spot, fixing his glasses yet again. Byakuran clicked on his log in again and a different username and password appeared. Byakuran typed it in quickly before a different type of search engine appeared. Shoichi's expression turned into utter confusion when he saw this new search engine. Byakuran typed in the same number before and a profile did in fact appear.

"XX-0101-XX is my favorite because he is much older and listens to me all the time~ So loyal~" Byakuran placed his chin in the palm of his hand, admiring the picture of his favorite Altered.

"He is X-03-D's older brother…" Shoichi was busy reading the rest of the Altered's file.

"He is. When X-03-D was human and chosen to take part in experiments of making humans into Altered, XX-0101-XX tried to follow after him and stop his little brother from making a horrible choice. I stepped in and got the price of two Altered instead of one~" Byakuran laughed at his own joke.

"What does that mean?" Shoichi asked and looked down to Byakuran.

"XX-0101-XX is a natural Altered. He was born that way. His little brother was human who was going to go through the process of becoming an Altered. I had two Altereds in the end, Sho-chan~" Byakuran explained and poked the ginger's nose. Shoichi pulled away and had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What makes him your favorite, Byakuran-sama?" Shoichi dared to ask.

"Husssshh~" Byakuran placed a finger over Shoichi's lips. "That's a secrete~"

"…and you think he would be a perfect partner for X-18?" Shoichi raised an eyebrow, pulling away from the albino.

"Just like we're partners, Sho-chan~"

"You're my boss. I'm just one of your many workers. Different relationship, Byakuran-sama…" Shoichi scroll down to read more about XX-0101-XX.

"It is still a relationship, my dear Sho-chan~" Byakuran sang.

Shoichi cleared his throat before speaking again, flustering again. "Byakuran he is not even station at this facility. He is station in Italy. It will take him days before he gets here. By then, we could all be murder by X-18 just because he's bored."

"I just need to make a phone call and he'll be here~" Byakuran finished his lollipop and threw the stick away before getting up from the chair. Shoichi nodded his head an okay before shutting the computer down. He had no idea what Byakuran meant by those words, but knew he had a lot of things to do by the end of the day and needed to get started on them. He glanced shyly at the albino and couldn't help to hear the conversation. Byakuran always wore white and tight clothes. For a man in his mid-twenties, he looked like a teenager in ripped jeans. He spoke in a childish manor and even behaved that way as well. Byakuran didn't look like an evil person. Neither are his intentions, right…?

"Pass the phone to Kikyo-chan~" Byakuran sang happily and Shoichi looked away. It was hard living in between these two worlds. The human side and the Altered side. He looked at the container of lollipops on his desk and could only remember his friend who gave it to him. Shoichi was honest with himself and really did miss him, but that's why he's working here. To see him again.

"Sho-chan~ Sho-chan~ Come here! XX-0101-XX is coming! Come see!" Byakuran waved the ginger over again and Shoichi sighed before looking to the albino.

"There is no way he is-" Shoichi froze when he saw air and space begin to condense in a single area, a few feet in front of Byakuran. The albino could only smile at Shoichi and secretly enjoyed the sight of seeing the ginger confused and scared. Shoichi blinked and there stood XX-0101-XX in cloud of black fog around him; right there in front of Byakuran and the albino only greeted him with a smile. XX-0101-XX yawned quietly and stretched his arms out above his head, the spirals of dark fog beginning to fade around him. Shoichi stepped back in a hurry and couldn't believe what he had seen. It was if XX-0101-XX magically appeared.

"Welcome home~" Byakuran clapped his hands together and XX-0101-XX forced a smile in way to greet the albino. "XX-0101-XX, please meet my good friend, Sho-chan. Sho-chan meet my favorite Altered."

"I am not your favorite," were XX-0101-XX first words to the albino and Shoichi gulped. He looked exactly the same as X-03-D, only older, mature, and with different hair color. X-03-D is a fresh and smart blonde with the perfect sense of being a leader, but being so young he has made so many mistakes in his time being here. XX-01010-XX stood with a strong and determined stance, ready to take the next action. He too had the sense of being a leader, but he sounded cold or almost dead when speaking to the albino. All it did was make his appearance even more frightening. He spoke normally for an Altered. He probably wasn't raised here much like the other Altereds like X-27 or X-00-X who hardly spoke at all and if they did, it probably sounded wrong.

"Ehhh? What's makes you think that?" Byakuran whined.

"Because I am not here protecting you, Byakuran-sama. You sent me away to become stronger because the past me was not fit in your eyes." He replied coldly.

"That doesn't mean I don't like you. I wanted you to train harder and become the strongest Altered I ever raised~" Byakuran explained cheerily.

"You have raised stronger Altereds from the youngest of ages. I am one of the many you cherish, but not your favorite." XX-0101-XX explained and crossed his arms over his chest, his dog tags chiming against each other.

"Um, may I, may I say step in and say something?" Shoichi stammered, raising his hand like a good student in a classroom.

XX-0101-XX gave the ginger a sideways glance and Byakuran gave his full attention to Shoichi, smiling too.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this reunion, but we called you because we need your help. Before I even explain to you the situation, may I ask if you already bonded with another Altered or have done so in the past?"

"I never had a partner." XX-01010-XX replied bitterly and Byakuran chuckled.

"Sho-chan~ It was written in his file~ Didn't you read it thoroughly?" Byakuran teased.

"That was my question. Why does Byakuran-sama need me so suddenly? Is it a mess I have to clean up?" XX-0101-XX looked back to the albino.

"No~ No~ I need you to bond with one of my baby Altered. He is the one making a mess of things. If you could so kindly calm him down. I believe he is killing every Altered we send in, is his way of mourning the loss of his previous partner. How sad~" Byakuran explained.

"First off, I can not willingly choose him to be my partner nor can he for me. Second, why not put your baby Altered in his place. You have done that many times in the past and Byakuran-sama is not hesitant about correcting any individual. May they be human or Altered." XX-0101-XX replied sternly.

"Stop it~ Making me blush~" Byakuran smiled from ear to ear.

Shoichi gulped and ready himself to speak again. "Please. We have no other person to look for, XX-01010-XX."

The raven snapped a glance at the ginger, glaring at him. "It would be a human to beg for help and try to equal himself to a superior being.

Shoichi's inside clenched when he felt those coal dark eyes stabbing at his whole body. He looked away and adjusted his glasses, noting to never speak to the Altered ever again.

"Now, now, XX-0101-XX no need to be this angry. Take your anger out on X-18. Show him his place. Can you do that for me?" Byakuran asked, stepping in between the raven and the ginger.

"What do I get in return?" XX-0101-XX snapped.

"Your baby brother."

"You have promised me such a reward many years ago. I have accomplished everything you asked. I am still waiting for my brother, Byakuran-sama." The raven hissed out his words.

Byakuran chuckled. "This time, seeing how much you matured and grown in such a short amount of time, I will arrange a meeting with you and your brother. If he is still alive at that point of time."

XX-0101-XX narrowed his eyes. "Knowing the human family we were brought up in, my brother will not die without at least putting up a fight. Hold your words to your heart, Byakuran-sama and not to your cunning smile."


End file.
